By Fraley Williams
Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital is surveying Rockbridge County residents to get feedback on the region’s physical and mental health.
The health provider conducts the surveys, along with monthly community meetings and develops programs to assist residents. Four major issues were identified in the 2021 report: Mental health, COVID-19, obesity and poverty.
Carilion works closely with Live Healthy Rockbridge, a coalition of Rockbridge organizations, to create programs to address such issues. Past research led to programs like Rockbridge Connect and Nourish (CAN) and mobile health units.
Michelle Watkins, executive director of Rockbridge Area Transportation Services (RATS), said the report specifically identified “food insecurity and access to services as the top two needs for Rockbridge County.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 10 percent of the county is in poverty.
Holly Ostby, community health coordinator, said Carillion collects data and is “constantly assessing if we are making an impact on the community.”
The Community Table for Rockbridge, now called Rockbridge CAN, is one program that came from the 2021 assessment. The group serves free meals every Wednesday night at different locations throughout the county. It was created based on the Community Table in Lexington but serves a broader region.
Transportation is another issue frequently found in the health assessments. Ostby said Rockbridge County “covers over 600 square miles and there is not much in terms of public transportation.”
Programs like RATS and the Maury Express help provide transportation in the area. Through Rockbridge CAN, Watkins said that RATS is able to “take food and materials and transfer people to and from the meals that are free to anybody.”
The Rockbridge Area Health Center also works to meet community needs identified in the assessments, such as establishing mobile medical and dental services. Craig Vinecombe, marketing and development associate, said the “mobile dental unit goes out at least six times per month, if not more, to different parts of the county.”
Vinecombe also said the health center received funding for the mobile units which helps “bring that kind of care closer to where our patients are.”
People often need help with multiple services. Social service providers, who serve meals at Rockbridge CAN, often direct diners to agencies that can help.
“It’s been really exciting for me to see the different resources … offering firsthand assistance and support and information about the resources that are available,” Watkins said.
Watkins also said that housing assistance and home repairs are on-going issues in the Rockbridge area that will continue to be identified in the assessments.
“The assessments are critical to keeping a pulse on the community,” she said. “We are talking with community members and trying to identify where we still have needs for resources and making sure people are aware of what is available.”