FARMINGTON — Stakeholders from across the county will be given an opportunity this month to shape priorities for community health at a special forum aimed at providing input to the region’s health care organizations.

The forum will discuss the Franklin County Health Profile and is scheduled for 4;30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in the auditorium and cafeteria at the Mt. Blue High School Campus. The Franklin County Health Profile contains almost 200 data points that describe health outcomes, health behaviors, health care access and quality, and the social, community, and physical environment that affect our health. Previous forums were held in 2011 and 2015.

Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, is an international speaker, trainer, and consultant in behavioral health will be providing a keynote presentation to share how important it is for a community to have a voice. He will share his personal experiences and examples of how communities have come together to solve community problems.

Healthy Community Coalition Senior Program Director Tracy Harty said, “We want to share this data and get our neighbors’ input about what they see as our biggest health issues. The public, and other attendees representing health care organizations, social service agencies, businesses, and schools, will break into facilitated smaller groups to contribute ideas, perspectives, and priorities.” 

In addition to collecting input on local health priorities, the forum will also collect information about local resources that could help to address those priorities. Forums and other community feedback will be used as guidance to create new, county-specific health improvement plans in the spring of 2019. This forum is a step in the Maine Shared Community Health Needs Assessment (Maine Shared CHNA). 

This forum is free and open to the public, but registration is required. FMI or to register, go to the Maine Shared CHNA website, www.mainechna.org. 

This forum is a collaborative effort among Franklin Community Health Network, Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County, United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, Evergreen Behavioral Services and Franklin County Children’s Task Force.