Citizens United for a Healthy Montgomery County
The Vision
Healthy individuals in healthy communities engaged with a responsive political system dedicated to securing the right of all people to the pursuit of happiness.
We are on a mission to ensure that
By November 2020 every American has the opportunity to:
flourish and thrive
live and be part of a healthy community
be part of a responsive representative local and national political eco-system
access quality affordable health care services.
Get Involved
Get Personal:
Health and Wellness
Get Social:
Communities and Environment
Get Political:
National and Global
Health of the Region: Montgomery County 2020
Public Safety
Social Environment
Transportation
Political Ecosystem
Spiritual
Current Focus
My Healthy Montco Ecosystem provides information, digital tools and social media applications to empower users in their personal experience with the health ecosystem, the healthcare system and engage with various stakeholders (healthcare professional, hospitals, insurance companies, regulators, government officials, and media) to achieve optimal health and healthcare for all.
Hospital Watch: Montgomery County leverages reliable publicly available data and information about hospitals in the Delaware Valley. Our goal is to make all hospitals in the region top performing hospitals. The Hospital Watch: Delaware Valley database driven program helps individuals enhance medical decision-making and engages them as citizens, in order to improve health and healthcare services for themselves, their community and the nation. Additionally, Hospital Watch: Delaware Valley connects to the Tool Box for Citizen Engagement:Take Action (Get personal, Get social, Get Political) for information, ideas and tools for engagement.
The Pain Opioid Epidemic Case Presentation serves for testing the use of the case presentation in addressing policy challenges. It is the objective of the Pain Opioid Epidemic Case Presentation to be used by local entities and to be easily configured to local needs and resources.
The county platform start March 2020
 Community engagementAcross the United States, communities have and utilize different levels of resources to support efforts to maintain and improve individual and family health—for example, addiction treatment programs, emergency medical facilities, and opportunities for social engagement. Availability of healthy food Walkability Community health benefit agenda |  Population spending burdenHealth care spending consumes a large portion of the U.S. gross domestic product, dwarfing the health care spending of other nations. This burden can be measured at national, state, local, and institutional levels. Population spending burden Total cost of care Health care spending growth |  Life expectancyLife expectancy is a validated, readily available, and easily understandable measure for a critical health concept. Because life expectancy depends on a full range of individual and community influences on health—from cancer to homicide—it represents an inclusive, high-level measure for health. Infant mortality Maternal mortality Violence and injury mortality |
|---|---|---|
 Well BeingWell-being captures the subjective dimensions of health related to quality of life. Furthermore, levels of well-being often predict utilization of and satisfaction with health care. Self reported well-being is a reliable indicator Well-being Multiple chronic conditions Depression |  Overweight and obesityMore than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, a fact that has causes and consequences that extend beyond the health system—including socioeconomic, cultural, political, and lifestyle factors. Overweight and obesity Activity levels Healthy eating patterns |  Addictive behaviorAddiction, including to nicotine, alcohol, and other drugs, is prevalent in the United States, representing a complex challenge for the health system, communities, and families. Every year, substance abuse and addiction cost the country more than $500 billion Tobacco use Drug dependence/illicit use Alcohol dependence/ misuse |
 Unintended pregnancyUnintended pregnancy, a significant challenge for both individual and community health, is a measure that aggregates a variety of social, behavioral, cultural, and health factors— particularly women’s knowledge about and access to tools for family planning. Unintended pregnancy Contraceptive use |  Healthy communitiesIndividual health is a function of a wide range of socioeconomic and community factors, from infrastructure to social connections. Community health includes critical elements of health that fall outside the care system, such as housing, employment, and environmental factors. Healthy communities Childhood poverty rate Childhood asthma Air quality index Drinking water quality index |  Preventive servicesPreventive services (for example, screening for hearing loss or counseling for tobacco cessation) present a valuable opportunity for both improving health and reducing costs Preventive services Influenza immunization Colorectal cancer screening Breast cancer screening |
 Care accessA person’s ability to access care when needed is a critical precondition for a high quality health system. Factors that could hamper access to care include lack of health insurance, clinician shortages, lack of transportation, cultural and linguistic barriers, and physical limitations. Care access Usual source of care Delay of needed care | Patient safetyAvoiding harm is among the principal responsibilities of the health care system, yet adverse outcomes are common. Ensuring patient safety will require a culture that prioritizes and assesses safety through a reliable index of organizational results. Patient safety Wrong-site surgery Pressure ulcers Medication reconciliation |  Evidence-based careEnsuring that patients receive care supported by scientific evidence for appropriateness and effectiveness is a central challenge for the health care system. Currently, an estimated one-third of U.S. health care expenditures do not contribute to improving health. Aggregating carefully selected and standardized clinical measures can provide a reliable composite index of system performance Evidence-based care Cardiovascular risk reduction Hypertension control Diabetes cont |
Individual engagementGiven the effects of personal choices on health, as well as the increasing use of personal health devices, it is critical for individuals to be aware of their options and responsibilities in caring for their own health and that of their families and communities. Individual engagement Involvement in health initiatives |  Personal spending burdenCare that is too expensive can limit access to care, lead people to avoid care, or prevent them from spending money in other areas of value to them—with far-reaching economic impacts. Personal spending burden Health care–related bankruptcies |  Care match with patient goalsSystematically assessing each patient’s individual goals and perspectives ensures that the health care system is focusing on the aspects of care that matter most to patients. Care match with patient goals Patient experience Shared decision making End-of-life/advanced care planning |
Health of the Region 2020
September, 2020
People's Plaza
Independence Hall National Park
The Healthy Montco Conversation Blog provides a framework for dialogue that is built on the foundation of respect, facts, and dedication to American democracy and values.
We invite you to participate in our conversation with that goal in mind. Over the next year we will discuss the following topics, in conjunction with the various Citizens4health activities.