Placer County recently introduced a new online public health program, “Be Well Placer,” and an online portal where county citizens can explore their community’s health data and find the right agencies for their needs.
The health dashboard was presented last week at the county Board of Supervisors meeting, and is described as a one-stop-shop to explore a wide array of health data about Placer County so county staff and partner agencies can “provide the right services where they’re needed most” according to the county’s press release.
The Be Well Placer website states that the county’s goals are to bring “non-biased data, local resources and a wealth of information to one accessible, user-friendly location” and to give the community “the tools we need to understand the indicators that affect the quality of our residents' lives.”
Placer’s public health officer, Dr. Rob Oldham, also shared some of his department’s successes from 2015, and goals for 2016. Oldham said addressing prescription drug abuse and overdoses is a high priority for the department, and the county formed an opioid safety coalition in 2015 with the help of Placer Nevada County Medical Society and Nevada County.
Also on the books for Placer County’s health department is efforts on immunizations and vaccinations for kindergartners. The vaccination rate in the county increased from 86.4 percent to 88.8 percent for the 2015-2016 school year, according to a recent report from the California Department of Public Health.
For more information about Be Well Placer and the health data of Placer County, visit http://www.placerdashboard.org/.
