SAFFORD — Graham County will spend $27,500 on a state-mandated update to its community health assessment and public health improvement plan.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to renew the consulting agreement with Coll Consulting for the plan update. Funding comes from the state funded Health in Arizona Policy Initiative.
Supervisor Paul David noted that Coll Consulting works with multiple counties around the state on updating health improvement plans and, since the plans follow a basic template, wondered if there was a way to get a discounted rate.
Health Department Director Brian Douglas explained that the consulting also includes eight to 10 trips from Maricopa County to Graham County, so the price was fixed.
“I would prefer to have this done locally, but we just don’t have the public health expertise here locally to have this completed,” Douglas said.
The most recent Graham County Health Assessment 2019-2023 showed the county had a greater percentage of the population in poor or fair health, more residents had poor physical and mental health days, and a greater percent of the population was in physical or mental distress compared the state and national averages.
From the 2017 Health Survey, Graham County’s most important health issues were: illegal drug use, suicide, prescription drug abuse, lack of mental health services and alcohol abuse.
