How healthy is Austin and Travis County? That’s one of the key questions the Community Health Assessment report from Austin Public Health seeks to answer. Last done in 2022, the new report gives a post-COVID-19 look at the community.
The assessment brings together folks from the major players: all three hospital systems, Austin Public Health, Integral Care (the county’s mental health authority), the Travis County Health and Human Services, UT Health Houston’s School of Public Health, Central Health (the county’s hospital district), Cap Metro and the city’s Public Works Department. Austin Public Health alsoinvited representatives from the community to share their real-life experience.
“These assessments give us a clear call to action — honest data and community voice to confront persistent inequities and advance a healthier Austin Travis County for all,” said Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup.
The report doesn’t deliver any solutions, but it will feed the next step, which is creating the Community Health Improvement Plan next year with the same group participation and community feedback. That process will begin Jan. 23 with a launch meeting. Kodjo Dodo, who leads these projects as the manager of the planning and evaluation unit at Austin Public Health, expects that report to be out in September. The ideas that immerge will then be implemented in 2027…