Summit identifies pressing health issues in Pettis County

Teen pregnancy, tobacco use and family nutrition are among the most pressing health and wellness issues in Pettis County.

A group of health professionals, social service agency representatives and government officials identified the three issues as problem areas they would like to improve in the coming years.

Nearly 40 people attended the fifth annual Health and Wellness Summit hosted by the Blue Ribbon Health and Wellness Planning Team on Wednesday at State Fair Community College. John Dawes, Bothwell Regional Health Center CEO and chairman of the Blue Ribbon health committee, said the summit reinforces for him the advantages of gathering together providers, school nurses and social services agencies to discuss health issues in the community.

“We had a lot of really good discussion,” said JoAnn Martin, administrator of the Pettis County Health Center and member of the Blue Ribbon health committee. “We had a diverse group of people from various segments of society and life in Pettis County. I think we got some interesting perspectives on how people view health in our county.”

The purpose of the summit is to “come together and have a discussion so we can see what the needs are related to health in our community,” Martin said.

Participants discussed statewide and national concerns such as the rising number of uninsured. Martin said those discussions help people here become better advocates in bringing concerns to decision makers at the state and national levels.

Also, Dawes discussed the challenges associated with recruiting health providers to Sedalia and some of the approaches taken to attract quality candidates.

“It’s very, very competitive right now,” Dawes said.

The local objectives were set probably due to their impact on the community, Martin said. Pettis County has the fourth highest teen pregnancy rate in the state, according to the 2009 county health assessment.

“I think it has such a long-range impact on both the young mother, the baby and the young man,” Martin said.

Teen parents typically fail to finish high school.

“It’s that entire realm of what that means, not only for the individual, but the community at large,” Martin said.

“It takes more resources to provide for the mother and children.”

In relation to the high teen pregnancy rate, Pettis County also has alarmingly high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, like gonorrhea and chlamydia. The county ranks third in cases of gonorrhea and second in chlamydia amongst the north central region, and in the top 10 in the state in each category.

“There is a certain perceived invisibility when you are of a young age,” Martin said. “Teens to young adults think, ‘It’s not going to happen to me. It’s somebody else’s problem.’ Then it becomes an issue.”

Like teen pregnancy, obesity and smoking also affect the community in terms of impact on the health system.

Pettis County has high rates of obesity, physical inactivity and smoking, which correlates with higher than state average rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.

The Blue Ribbon health and wellness planning team will meet later this month to discuss how to approach the issues identified at this year’s summit and the overall objectives of the group.

“The key point here is that this doesn’t sit on a shelf,” Dawes said.