Finding information about a particular area can be daunting and time-consuming.
So Lenoir Memorial Hospital has provided an online resource that puts all the available demographics of the county from reliable sources at one-stop convenience.
The system was designed by the for-profit Healthy Communities Institute when a professorat the University of California-Berkeley found that statistical information is scattered and often difficult to find online, Ashley Carreira, the company’s account manager, said.
LMH was able to provide the database through grants totaling $13,500 from the hospital and the Lenoir Memorial Foundation.
“We’re convinced it’s a good thing, as far as the community is concerned,” Foundation Executive Director Dirk Griffith said.
The site, the Healthy Communities database, can be accessed from the hospital’s website, lenoirmemorial.org, by clicking on Healthy Communities at the bottom right side of the page.
“It’s a wealth of information one click away,” said Constance Hengel, LMH director of community programming and development. “… Anybody can do this. We put it on here for community leaders, community agency directors and interested people in our community.”
Through a three-year commitment with Healthy Communities, the hospital’s website is continually updated as statistical information is released.
A number of options are available under Community Health Data and Resources. By clicking on Community Database, a wealth of information is available about Lenoir County.
Statistics on the county’s health include common diseases, weight, mental health and substance abuse. Economic statistics include employment, housing, income and poverty. Environmental concerns include air, water and retail density. The database also contains education, public safety, social environment and transportation.
Colored dashboard indicators point to green, yellow or red to show where Lenoir County stands in each category.
“There’s about 55 indicators that are listed here,” Hengel said as she explained how to obtain data from the site.
For example, information about children living below the poverty level will tell what the category involves, why it’s important to know, the percentage rate, with what the percentage rate was compared, the source of the data and the source website.
Compiled statistics are only taken from reliable sources that meet the Healthy Communities criteria, Hengel said.
Data also can be compared with previous data and looked at by the county as a whole, census tract or zip code.
County demographics can be compared with statewide figures, and county statistics can be compared with the national Healthy People 2020 goals.
Users can create their own reports by copying and pasting various pieces of information to save on the site, save offsite and email.
Local governments and agencies can submit their own compiled statistical reports to the hospital for the community to access, Hengel said. LMH has already begun uploading its own reports to the site.
“We’ll be able to bank community reports for the community,” she said. “We don’t have anything like that.”
The Promising Practices section provides information on what professionals and community members in other areas of the country have done to create positive change, and those models are rated on how well they work.
The website states, “The database provides carefully reviewed, documented and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.”
The site also allows for user feedback.
In addition to Lenoir County, data on Jones, Craven and Pamlico counties can be accessed through Carolina East Medical Center and on Carteret County through Carteret General Hospital. Wake Forest Baptist Health is working on getting a site for three counties.
“The people that will see the value in this,” Hengel said, “are the ones that are in our community that are trying to tell the story of the quality of life in Lenoir County. … I think it’s an awesome resource for the county.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
Breakout box:
How to use the new LMH database:
n To access the Healthy Communities database, go to lenoirmemorial.org and click on Healthy Communities at the bottom right side of the page
n To have your reports uploaded onto the site for community access, call Constance Hengel at 252-522-7028