It is our pleasure to share with you the 2016 Forest, Oneida, and Vilas Counties Community Health Needs Assessment. On behalf of the three Boards of Health, steering committees, and three Ministry Health Care hospitals, we hope you will find this information useful in planning and responding to the needs of our community. We would like to personally thank UW – Extension and the Division of Public Health-Northern Region for their continued support and resources.

This Document represents the work of over 75 community leaders and partners in addition to the staff in all three county health departments and Ministry Health Care. These partners demonstrated a strong commitment to assessing the health needs of Forest, Oneida, and Vilas Counties, working collaboratively to making our communities healthier. The Community Health Needs Assessment is meant to summarize the key findings from data analysis, a day long community meeting held December 11, 2015, interviews and community surveys.

Following the community assessment, a Community Health Improvement Plan will be developed. This plan provides a template to assist public health stakeholders with implementing the evidenced-based strategies that address the top three health priorities of:

Alcohol and Drug Use

Mental Health

Chronic Disease Prevention and Management

We hope that you find this document useful and welcome any comments or suggestions you may have for improving the health of our communities.

2016 Community Health Needs Assessment

Community Data Fact Sheets

Community Health Survey Final Report