The Health and Human Service Council is a collaborative group that promotes the community’s welfare to improve the way people connect with solutions. They envision a community where all children, youth and families flourish and thrive.

For the past several months the HHSC has been working on a public survey that builds on previous health questions and creates a more complete picture of our community. Human service leaders will use the results to improve health, identify groups that are at greater risk and guide resource allocation and programs.

“We will ask residents to answer simple questions about health status, conditions, and behaviors,” said Public Health Officer Mike Krecek “We also want to know about access to care, utilization and other issues.”

“A key goal is to remain concise so more people complete the survey.” said David M. Callejo Perez who leads the SVSU team that is assisting in creating the survey. “A majority of the survey will be collected by telephone.”

Many local organizations understand how important this survey is and have offered their support. Primary funding for the survey is provided by the Midland Area Community Foundation.

“We are pleased to support this collaborative project,” shared Sharon Mortensen, President & CEO of the Midland Area Community Foundation.  “We appreciate the importance of this survey in helping our community identify health needs so we can find strategies to address those concerns. This project fits with our mission to provide philanthropic leadership to strengthen our community by fostering collaboration and giving today and in the future.”

Additional funders include: Senior Services, Community Mental Health, United Way of Midland County, Midland County Health Department, MidMichigan Medical Center, Arnold Center, Midland County ESA, Department of Human Services, Midland Community Center and Cancer Services. United Way also serves as the project fiduciary on behalf of the Council.

“The results of this survey will empower everyone with the data to drive impact,” shared Ann Fillmore, Executive Director of United Way of Midland County. “The collaborative nature of this project is another illustration of how working together we can create a better and stronger community.”

The Behavioral Risk Factor survey will be conducted in the fall of 2014, with community results available in the first quarter of 2015.