Shelley Argabrite

Garrett County Insights

Chronic Diseases (Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, etc…) Insight #1 According to the most recent Garrett County Community Health Assessment (https://mygarrettcounty.com/cha2021/), Chronic Diseases (Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, etc…) was the 6th most important priority identified by Garrett County stakeholders in the prioritization survey (see more in the 2019-2021 Community Health Assessment Research Portal – CHArp https://garrettcountyhealthdepartment.github.io/CHArp/). TheContinue reading “Garrett County Insights”

Community Collaboration For Public Health Professionals

Article written by Shelley Argabrite, Chief Health Strategist at the Garrett County Health Department Transparent dialogue between local health officials, agency stakeholders, and the general public continues to be a key component in improving equity and building capacity. Strategically investing in digital technologies allows people to collaborate more efficiently and work better as a team,Continue reading “Community Collaboration For Public Health Professionals”

Community Health Improvement for the Public Health Professional

Article written by Shelley Argabrite, Chief Health Strategist at the Garrett County Health Department Do people in your community know what health planning is, why it’s attempted and how it can impact their daily lives? The results from our 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment 1 let us know too many people in our community weren’tContinue reading “Community Health Improvement for the Public Health Professional”

Investing in Open Source Public Health

Following an incredibly successful pilot launch in Garrett County, Maryland, the Garrett County Health Department was able to apply for and receive funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation thru the Public Health National Center for Innovation (PHNCI), a division of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). This funding assisted in the open source release,Continue reading “Investing in Open Source Public Health”

Community Engagement For Public Health Professionals

Article written by Shelley Argabrite, Chief Health Strategist at the Garrett County Health Department What are you most passionate about for your community? Should we be surprised when programs have little to no impact on health outcomes when we fail to consider the community’s deep rooted concerns? Asking residents a few questions about their well-beingContinue reading “Community Engagement For Public Health Professionals”

Pre-Launch Strategies

With a score of at least 7 or more from the Action Plan for Readiness exercise, approach this venture with confidence that you’ve got what it takes to make the implementation of the GCPT successful in your community! However, if your community scores lower than a 7, implementing the GCPT may be exactly what yourContinue reading “Pre-Launch Strategies”

About the Garrett County Planning Tool

What is the Garrett County Planning Tool (GCPT)? The Garrett County Planning Tool (GCPT) is the world’s first FREE and open source population health engagement framework built upon the world’s most popular content management system – WordPress – to enable every community to have the opportunity to increase transparency and activate engaged stakeholders. Who canContinue reading “About the Garrett County Planning Tool”

Innovative Emerging Practice in Public Health

Imported article from May 2018. The newest emerging practice in Public Health for digital community engagement is an innovative collaborative platform found at mygarrettcounty.com. For our rural Appalachian community, this platform is a radical shift away from the traditional bureaucratic process of creating a community health improvement plan led by the local health department. In just tenContinue reading “Innovative Emerging Practice in Public Health”

Founder Foreword – Planning With Purpose

The health of our community depends on how well we work together! Our primary purpose on the Garrett County Planning Tool is to give everyone an opportunity to share their voice by connecting to help improve the issues that matter most to all of us! We’ve removed the obstacles of needing to be at aContinue reading “Founder Foreword – Planning With Purpose”