AMC's Public Health Initiative
In response to the New York State Department of Health's initiative to improve the collective health of all New Yorker's, the Adirondack Medical Center participated in two regional health assessment initiatives. The Adirondack Rural Health Network (ARHN) facilitated a forum where community partners from neighboring counties could collaborate to share and provide resources for the development of their respective health assessments and community service plans. The ARHN facilitated this initiative by preparing a collection and analysis of data regarding the health issues and needs in the following six counties: Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren and Washington. This report was entitled "Building a Healthy Community" and included a compilation of health care data and analysis to assess the health status of the residents and individual counties; a Local Health Department's Community Health Assessment and the hospitals' Community Service Plans.
I am glad to see that the ARHN took the lead on this initiative to better the community's health. I would like to believe that there were other collaborative efforts going on within local communities to work towards this goal before the impetus was provided by the Commissioner of Health's statewide mission to improve the health of all New Yorker's. There is lots of room for a physician working in a small, rural community to make a difference. As Dr. Adachi-Mejia told us, local physician's within rural communities assume great responsibility and respect given their unique position within a small-town setting. Therefore, I would plan to use this unique position to improve my community's overall health and well-being. I think that this initiative can start on an even smaller scale with just one physician. By encouraging healthy lifestyle habits and positive behavioral changes, one physician's impact can be quite large in a rural community. Because of the rural practitioner's unique position in a small, close community, he/she is able to develop meaningful relationships with his/her patients and their families. One small impact on just one patient could have a ripple effect that could ultimately spread to the rest of the community. I think that the rural physician's responsibility is to inspire his/her patient's to lead a healthy and happy life. It is the responsibility of the rural physician to foster this notion within the community to improve the collective health and well-being of the community at large.
