Introduction
This paper focuses on health status identification and health promotion in Spartanburg, SC. Taking into account that nurses play an integral part in improving the health status of the community, it is essential to explore the mentioned topic in detail.
Community Evaluation
The status of the public health of Spartanburg County is determined by a range of factors. According to Spartanburg (SP) Health Rankings (2016), the key health factors include obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, sexually-transmitted diseases, food environment index, and alcohol abuse – all these factors are behavioral. In turn, environmental ones involve air pollution, housing issues, and drinking water quality. Also, among social and economic factors, one might note unemployment, low income, and crime.
At that, considerable efforts to address the mentioned issues are conducted by Partners for Active Living (PAL), the Childhood Obesity Task Force (COTF), and the Mary Black Foundation. The City of Spartanburg has an elaborate network of public, private, and non-profit organizations that are open to communicating with each other and the public. In particular, the Road to Better Health (RTBH) coalition is one of the most prominent of them.
Specific Ways to Improve the Health Status of the Community
In this regard, it is essential to suggest appropriate preventive measures to improve health outcomes in Spartanburg County. According to Five Public Health Priority Areas & Goals for 2018 identified by RTBH, the community is in need to enhance access to care. Namely, it is expected to achieve a “30% reduction in the number of emergency room discharges for ambulatory care sensitive conditions and 30% reduction in the number of hospital readmissions within 30 days” (Public Health, 2016, para. 2).
Another specific way to improve the current health status is to reduce tobacco use among the population that can be reached by the facilitation “of at least 150 SC Tobacco Quitline fax referrals from Access Health Spartanburg and changes through one new smoke-free ordinance” (Public Health, 2016, para. 2). It is also crucial to point out that other initiatives might be considered as well. For example, the reduction of childhood obesity, the improvement of birth outcomes, and the increase in health behaviors should be taken into account within the framework of a comprehensive approach.
Patients with Congestive Heart Failure
SC Office of Research and Statistics reports that Spartanburg County residents were registered as 129 patients and 219 visitors with congestive heart failure at South Carolina Emergency Departments in 2012 (Public Health, 2016). The data provided shows the necessity to improve this area.
Considering that congestive heart failure is sometimes a result of the obesity factor that was identified above, Harkness and DeMarco (2012) offer to implement the Weight Watchers program. Based on encouragement, the program also requires the active involvement of nurses in teaching and continuous surveillance of patient care. However, it is significant to provide primary (aimed at preventive measures before the disease appearance), secondary (used to reduce the impact of the existing disease), and tertiary prevention (used to soften the influence of the congestive heart failure).
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare agency provides education and special medical attention to patients with chronic heart failure. Striving to meet the expectations of every client, nurse practitioners can also assist with emergency visits and medical goals along with care plans as well as offer various medication assistance programs (Heart Failure Center: Helping You Take Control, 2016).
Spartanburg Regional Heart Center is another agency that is a hospital specializing in training, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with congestive heart failure. The cost of the services at both health agencies is affordable and supplemented by discounts, cheer cards, and other bonuses. Medicaid services allow residents of South Carolina who are suffering from heart problems to receive services at both centers.
References
Harkness, G. A., & DeMarco, R. (2012). Community and public health nursing: Evidence for practice. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Heart Failure Center: Helping You Take Control. (2016). Web.
Public Health. (2016). Web.
Spartanburg (SP) Health Rankings. (2016). Web.