For the first time since its inception, the Healthy Ottawa Plan includes housing as a top health concern for the county.
“The reality is that life is complicated; health is complicated,” says Derel Glashower, senior epidemiologist with the Ottawa County Department of Public Health.
By addressing housing, it is very likely providers would be addressing mental health as well and vice versa. He describes it as a Venn diagram of overlapping circles.
“Health is much more than just going to a doctor and getting care,” Glashower says.
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Courtesy Healthy OttawaSocial determinants of health overlap, helping to create a person's well being.
Social determinants such as strain, lifestyle, and housing often direct health outcomes.
Mental health remains a top health challenge along with access to care, according to the newly released
2024 Healthy Ottawa Plan, based on the
2023 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and developed with input from nearly 100 cross-sector representatives.
Mental health still top priority
Because mental health continues to be a top health issue for residents, the
Healthy Ottawa Advisory Council (Healthy Ottawa)
has prioritized mental health as its No. 1 focus area for the next three years. The Mental Wellness Taskforce will be formed and be co-championed by Michael Brashears from Ottawa County Community Mental Health and Barbara Lee VanHorssen from the Momentum Center.
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Courtesy Healthy OttawaHealthy Ottawa released its Community Health Needs Assessment in 2023. A new report based on that assessment suggests the county's top three health priorities should be mental health, housing, and access to care.
“Mental wellness is vital to a high quality of life for individuals and for families. While access to mental health care was a priority in previous Healthy Ottawa plans, the 2024 plan will take a fresh approach to this need. Members of the Mental Wellness Taskforce will work together to improve countywide access to mental health care when residents need it,” Brashears says.
Not only is housing expensive, but there is a shortage of units even for those who can afford it. Poor or unsafe housing often leads to other negative physical, mental, and emotional outcomes.
Of those who answered the telephone survey, 14% reported having trouble paying rent, mortgage, or utilities in the past year. That number jumps to 35.7% among under-served adults such as Hispanics, single mothers with children, senior adults, as well as those who are uninsured, under-insured, or have Medicaid.
Although the issue of poverty is a broad one and difficult to remediate, issues connected to poverty can be addressed. The report gives the examples of finding ways to provide more affordable housing, providing more health food options at a lower cost to improve the nutrition of those who would not otherwise be able to afford healthy food, strengthening social service programs to offset the negative outcomes that can accompany poverty (e.g., broken homes, abusive relationships, household challenges), and addressing economic disparity by ensuring that under-served and vulnerable groups have access to services that will move them closer to participating on a level playing field.
“In 2023, Ottawa County continues to be impacted by the social, economic, and political fallout of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” according to the report. “Economically, although the economy is strong and unemployment is low, inflation is preventing many residents from making purchase decisions, and sometimes that means forgoing health care.”
No longer the healthiest
Healthy Ottawa is a group of hospitals and nonprofits working together to improve the health of Ottawa County. The group’s past successes include the creation of the
Suicide Prevention Coalition,
Ottawa County Pathways to Better Health, and
Thrive Ottawa County, as well as supporting
Ottawa Food’s expanded efforts.
Ottawa County has slipped a bit from its former status of “healthiest county in Michigan.” The most recent County Health Rankings list Ottawa County as the third healthiest county in the state. Still, the report says, with three hospitals, three free medical clinics, and hundreds of health care professionals, health care is accessible to most people — if they can afford it or have high-quality health insurance.
Almost 27% of survey respondents reported depression, compared to 22% in 2020. Almost 34% reported anxiety, compared to 23% in 2020. More than half of adults who reported anxiety are not undergoing treatment for it. Almost half of adults with severe psychological distress or depression are not undergoing treatment.
Respondents also reported higher rates of asthma, depression, and being overweight when compared to the state and the nation. Ottawa County also reported higher rates of poor mental health (14 days or more) than the nation and was in a dead heat with the state at 16.5% (16.7% of Michigan adults and 14.6% of adults nationwide reported poor mental health. The latest U.S. stat available was from 2021.
Ottawa County respondents also reported more risky behavior, including eating few fruits and vegetables, smoking cigarettes and vaping, binge drinking and heavy drinking.
The rate of Ottawa County adults who reported psychological distress was almost twice the rate of 2020 (34.5% compared to 19.5%).
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Courtesy Healthy OttawaThe 2024 Healthy Ottawa Plan looks for solutions to housing stress, mental health, and access to care.
Solutions
The Healthy Ottawa Plan calls on community members and organizations to review the plan, adopt strategies, and engage in efforts to address these concerns. To learn more about the root causes of the county’s greatest health needs, recommended strategies to address those needs, or to get involved, community members and local organizations can review the full 2024 Healthy Ottawa Plan at
healthyottawa.org.
“The only way to move the needle,” Glashower says, “is to work together.”