DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health to host community listening sessions

CHARLESTON, W.Va (WDTV) – The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Public Health is hosting eight community listening sessions across the Mountain State.

Officials say the listening sessions will help gather insight on health issues in specific areas of the state as part of the 2023 State Health Assessment.

The following are the scheduled listening sessions, with those in bold being in north-central West Virginia:

• October 13, 2023 | 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Ohio County Courthouse – 1500 Chapline Street, Wheeling, WV 26003
• October 16, 2023 | 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Marshall University Memorial Student Center – 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755
• October 19, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Mineral County Health Department, 541 Harley O Staggers Drive Suite 1, Keyser, WV 26726
• October 26, 2023 |  11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Kanawha County Library – Room 311 C, 123 Capitol Street, Charleston, WV 25301
• October 27, 2023 | 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | WVU-Parkersburg – Multipurpose Room, 300 Campus Drive, Parkersburg, WV 26104
• November 2, 2023 | 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Raleigh County Public Library – 221 N. Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 25801
• November 8, 2023 | 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Morgantown Public Library – Meeting Room A 373, Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505
• November 9, 2023 | 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. | Upshur County Public Library – 1150 Route 20 South Road, Buckhannon, WV 26201

DHHR officials say information gathered from the community listening sessions will be used to develop the State Health Improvement Plan, a five-year plan developed to address public health issues and themes by facilitating the prioritization of strategies and activities, identifying collective resources, and determining how to align those resources to achieve improvements in health outcomes.

“I encourage residents to attend one of these sessions to share the health issues important in your community,” said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, State Health Officer and Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health. “This feedback is critical to implementing real change to improve health outcomes in West Virginia.”

Click here to register to attend one of the eight listening sessions.

The 2023 State Health Assessment also includes a Community Health Survey, which is open to the public through October 9, 2023, and a Community Partner Survey open to organizations involved in improving community health through October 11, 2023.

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