PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Delaware County Health Department takes a look back and a look forward as they release their 2024 annual report. The report touts a wide range of public programs aimed at preventing the spread of diseases and promoting healthier lifestyles.
The Health Department’s interim director, Lora Werner, says the report shows that, over the last year, the county successfully implemented a wide range of public health programs — from food establishment licensing and inspection, to community health screenings and vaccination campaigns.
DCHD took proactive measures to enhance public health emergency preparedness, conducting surveillance for diseases like tuberculosis and measles, and distributing over 1,700 Narcan kits as part of overdose prevention.
“One of the biggest things that we worked on in the last year was the community health assessment,” said Werner.
She said nearly 5,000 residents participated in the assessment, which allowed public health leaders in the county to get data-driven insight by using “focus groups and community conversations, a huge data-gathering to really assess public health needs: Where can we help serve the county best?”
And with that information they took another big step forward by developing a community improvement plan with a few priorities.
“Those priorities are to promote whole-person care and prevent mental health and substance abuse disorders. That’s No. 1,” Werner said. “No. 2, maternal, parental and mental health; and No. 3 prevent chronic diseases.
Plans for 2025 include further developing the CHIP, increasing public outreach, and continuing to promote health equity across the county.
“We can’t do this work alone,” she said. “We are absolutely working hard with partners across the county to kind of develop strategies and approaches to tackle these types of problems. We have formed work groups, and they are meeting actively now to develop our work plans for ourselves in these areas.”