Did you ever consider the many factors that affect your health? Things like access to food, transportation, housing and even where you were born can play a significant role in how healthy you are. They are called “social determinants of health.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social determinants of health are non-medical factors that influence someone’s health; they are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and age, and they shape the conditions of daily life.
These social determinants of health can be grouped into five domains:
- Economic Stability (income, cost of living, employment)
- Education Access and Quality (educational opportunities, school quality)
- Healthcare Access and Quality (access to primary care, health insurance coverage, understanding health information)
- Neighborhood and Built Environment (quality of housing, access to transportation, neighborhood crime and violence)
- Social and Community Context (civic participation, discrimination, workplace conditions, incarceration)
As part of our mission to improve the health of people in the communities we serve, Carroll Hospital and LifeBridge Health offer a variety of services to support our community members, including:
- LifeBridge Health’s ambulatory care management team—consisting of community health workers, registered nurse navigators and social work navigators—works with patients who have potential identified needs after they have been discharged from the hospital;
- Hospital and primary care patients are screened for these non-medical factors in order to direct them to community resources;
- Partnering with Access Carroll in providing preventive and acute care for uninsured and/or low-income Carroll County residents; and
- Identifying the community’s health concerns through the Community Health Needs Assessment. This triennial survey asks community members general questions about their health. From this, a Community Benefit and Health Improvement Plan is produced and lists strategies for how community partners will address those identified concerns.
If you or someone you know is struggling to navigate their health, please contact Care Connect at 410-871-7000 and ask to speak with a health navigator. Our Care Connect navigation program is a free service open to all community members that helps identify the necessary resources to take control of your health. You do not have to be a Carroll Hospital patient to work with Care Connect navigators.
Amanda Coshun is the community health improvement specialist at Carroll Hospital’s Tevis Center for Wellness.
