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Public relations, unemployment, community perception identified as top Trumbull public-health issues
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
About 30 people representing the four Trumbull County health departments and many other agencies that work with them attended a strategic planning retreat Wednesday to identify the most important issues in Trumbull County public health.
Through a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, they identified several issues — better public and media relations, the threat posed by unemployment and changing the internal and external perceptions of the community.
The analysis is required about every five years as part of the recertification of each health department — Trumbull County Health Department, Warren, Niles and Girard — said Mel Milliron of the Trumbull County Board of Health.
After identifying the issues, participants divided into groups to discuss how to best address each one.
The SWOT analysis was similar to one in late February at the Sunrise Inn after a gunbattle not far from the Sunrise that killed one man and injured a second one. Authorities felt the incident showed that drug dealing and drug violence had reached a dangerous level.
Wednesday’s analysis was done at the recently reopened Hippodrome on High Street Northeast near Courthouse Square and involved the group identifying Trumbull County’s public health strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Crime and drug dealing, billboards advertising unhealthy habits and joblessness are among the more serious threats to public health, the group said.
The drug dealing and the resulting meeting at the Sunrise also created an opportunity for collaboration, said Tim Schaffner, executive director of Trumbull County Children’s Service, who was facilitator for the Sunrise event.
Having worked together on the drugs and crime problem helped create relationships that can be used to improve public health, Schaffner said.
“It seemed like we were all working in our own silos, and now we seem to be doing more together,” Milliron agreed.
Among the strengths identified were the Trumbull County Land Bank, which was created to remove abandoned homes; agencies that advocate for children who are victims of child assault; new schools in many Trumbull County communities; and the ASAP Coalition, which addresses substance abuse.
Each health department will also create its own, separate strategic plan, Milliron said.