KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak residents may have seen leaflets recently raising awareness for a survey on health and wellbeing. According to Providence, it’s part of an ongoing effort to evaluate the healthcare needs of a community and then work to meet those needs.
“We of course have access to, you know, patient data and those who walk through our doors when they have an acute problem, but we don’t have good line of sight just to where the larger community is, and their health and well being. And so we field a community survey, really to get responses from the broader community,” Johnson said.
That’s Nathan Johnson, regional director for community health investment for Providence. He says that the survey is performed every three years, and was last taken in Kodiak in May of 2019.
A lot has happened in the healthcare world in the last three years. The COVID-19 pandemic made thousands of people in Kodiak ill, and an ensuing mental health crisis has stretched waiting lists for psychiatric services into multiple months. Johnson says that these changes demand an updated survey.
“This is a completely new survey over what was done in 2019. This survey is referred to as the health and wellbeing monitor. It is a survey that was developed by the Providence Institute for Healthy Communities in collaboration with the University of Washington,” Johnson said.
Results are analyzed by Providence, and shared with partner groups- including other healthcare providers in the Kodiak area and local government. That information then gets used to identify problem areas for healthcare providers in Kodiak to tackle. That analysis is expected to be completed no later than September.
The survey runs till the 31st of May. Cash prizes are available for those who participate. The survey can be found at the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center website, and mailers distributed around the island have a QR code that links directly to the survey.
