AppHealthCare Releases Community Health Report for Watauga County
January 28, 2022 AppHealthCare announced on Wednesday that through a collaboration with numerous agencies as well as surveys and data collection, a community health report was put together for each of the three counties (Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany) in the AppHealthCare district. The report for each county is put together every three years. The Watauga County report was compiled through partnerships with Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, the Watauga Compassionate Community Initiative, Appalachian District Board of Health and AppHealthCare. As part of the community health report, multiple factors are included in determining what the greatest needs and concerns are for the county. Several of those data points include household income, poverty level, food insecurity, unemployment data, community safety, affordable housing and mental/behavioral health. According to the report for Watauga County, the three biggest areas to focus community resources on are mental health, housing and family/social support systems. By Nathan Ham