Health assessment survey available through county

The Jasper County Health Department is encouraging residents of the county to participate in the Jasper County Community Health Assessment Survey. The survey, which is available through May 31, seeks to engage in a dialogue with citizens about their health concerns, experiences and goals.

“MercyOne Newton Medical Center, Jasper County Health Department and numerous community partners have collaborated to launch the 2025-2028 Jasper County Community Health Assessment,” Jasper County Health Department Administrator Becky Pryor said. “We’d love for everyone to take the survey and share it at their workplaces. We want to know the needs in the community.”

The survey works to gather valuable information on the health needs and priorities of the citizens of Jasper County. By documenting the results, the county can further understand the variety of challenges and opportunities people are up against, and work to address them through more specific programs and services.

Questions range from ranking how active people are to what kind of foods do they eat and what chronic diseases they have. It addresses mental health, barriers to receiving healthcare and the quality of the services they have used.

The survey also requests information about housing, food availability, childcare and work opportunities. Finally, it asks community members to rank the priorities for Jasper County and list areas of strength and where improvements can be made moving forward.

“We had 210 back already and we’ve only been open since Friday (May 3),” Pryor said. “I was thrilled with that. We’re hoping for around 300 to 400 surveys back.”

A town hall meeting will also be held Sept. 11 to discuss community needs, as well. Additional details about the town hall will be released at a later date. Once completed, JCHD will take the data and work with health and human service providers, along with community leaders to address the top issues for the county.

“Then, we will work on a plan of what issues we will be working on for the next three years,” Pryor said. “It is a big project. We take it serious. We’re really trying to work to make systematic changes in the county to make it better.”

Links to the survey can be found at MercyOne Newton Medical Center’s Facebook page, Jasper County Health Department’s Facebook page, the Jasper County website or at www.surveymonkey.com/r/JasperCo2024. Hard copies are also available at the health department office. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and responses are confidential.

“I hope we can get a lot more feedback for it so the leadership team can organize the material and really figure this out,” Board of Health President Julie Smith said.