Nov. 5 – Georgia Southern’s Institute for Health Logistics & Analytics maps vital health resources for underserved Southeast Georgia counties | Education & Career Dev.

“We implement a One Health approach in finding and mapping resources,” said Tanya Jules, CHRP project lead. “Health resources aren’t just your doctor and dentist. They are also parks, access to healthy food, housing, social services, education, daycare, veterinary services, transportation, public safety and even agricultural services — all the things that allow for individuals to lead healthy lives.”

The One Health approach is based on the idea that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and their shared environment. 

“CHRP is very much a ‘boots on the ground’ project as our team members spend time getting to know community members and stakeholders in the rural and underserved counties in Southeast Georgia that we are focusing on,” said Jill Johns, IHLA project manager. “This approach is critical to highlight and map health resources that promote positive health outcomes.”

As of September 2024, CHRP has completed outreach in Bryan (Pembroke), Candler, Emanuel and Toombs counties. Each location can use the information collected to help support future health workforce development. The community partners in each county will receive access to both an interactive online map identifying the assets and a report on the findings. 

“Meeting and listening to community members has been vital to uncovering important health assets that can’t be found on something like Google Maps,” said Jennifer Drey, IHLA community outreach coordinator. “For example, the only dementia support available in one of our counties is over Zoom, and that doesn’t show up by looking at existing maps.” 

It is the goal of the IHLA team to present their findings to county stakeholders. 

“In Emanuel County, I spent a lot of time talking with organizations and learning about the resources they provide,” said Megan Mercer, IHLA community relations and event coordinator. “It was great then to be invited to the Family Connection Collaborative to show many of the community members the interactive map and hear how they plan to use it to help individuals in Emanuel County moving forward.”

CHRP uses a strengths-based approach to highlight existing resources and services that contribute to positive health outcomes. 

“Rather than focusing on needs or what is missing, a strengths-based approach highlights what is going well so that future efforts can benefit from existing efforts that already have a positive impact on the community,” noted Jules. 

Currently CHRP is working with Evans and Tattnall counties. In 2025, the group will expand the program to 12 additional rural and underserved counties in Georgia. 

The team presented at the Georgia Rural Health Association annual meeting in September. 

“The project was very well received,” noted Jules. “We were encouraged to see a growing interest in community-driven strategies for the improvement of rural health.” 

CHRP was made possible by a generous donation from the Centene Foundation.