JACKSON — So far, the Healthy Carolinians have collected 297 community health assessment surveys.

Jacqueline Hough | The Daily Herald Northampton County Healthy Carolinians Task Force Chairperson Clara Wilson, left, turns in some community health assessments to coordinator Virginia McClary, right, as Rebecca Bayse, center, looks at the agenda. Advertisement

“We still need to get to the magic number of 500,” said Virginia McClary, coordinator for the Northampton County Healthy Carolinians Task Force.

Every four years, the Northampton Health Department and the Northampton Healthy Carolinians conduct a community health assessment to determine community health priorities and the health status of the county.

The orange surveys have been distributed throughout the county. They can be found in the town halls of all nine municipalities, the Health Department, Cultural and Wellness Center and other locations.

McClary said Aug. 19 is the deadline for collecting the 500 surveys needed by the State Office of the Healthy Carolinians.

When the 2006 survey was distributed, four areas were identified — sexually transmitted-HIV-teen pregnancy, diabetes, cancer and access to recreation and physical activity — as areas in need of being addressed to help improve the health of the county’s residents.

Five hundred surveys must be completed in order to have an adequate sampling of the community. County residents and persons who work in the county are encouraged to fill out the survey.

Surveys are available online at the Health Department website www.northamptonhd.com. They will need to be printed out, completed and mailed to the Health Department at P.O. Box 635, Jackson NC  27845.

Northampton County Healthy Carolinians meeting

During the community events and agency

updates, members learned various

information:

• Free prostate cancer screenings will be

conducted at the Northampton Health Department July 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is a blood test only. It is for male county

residents who are age 50 and older, for any age with a family

history of prostate

cancer or if a person hasn’t had a prostate exam in the last year.

• Free breast and

cervical cancer exams are done on the

second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the Northampton Health Department  for women ages 50-64.

• Breast exams are

conducted on the third Tuesday of each month at the Northampton Health Department in Gaston.

• Rural Health Group provides free diabetes support classes on the second Wednesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the J.W. Faison Senior Center in

Jackson and the Sallie Jordan Center in Seaboard at 3:30 p.m.

• Wellness Recovery Action planning

classes at the Cultural and Wellness Center

continue through Aug. 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. on Mondays. The free classes help persons manage their recovery from mental health, substance abuse, life challenges, maintain wellness and become own advocate.

• For more information call 252-481-4010 and ask for Carol or send an e-mail to wrapeastcarolina@recoveryinnovations.org.

Northampton County Healthy Carolinians Task Force

The next meeting is Aug. 19 at 3:30 p.m. at the Northampton County Cultural and Wellness Center in Jackson.