The Community Health Partnership of Mercer County held its annual stakeholder meeting on Friday, January 13 at the Avalon at Buhl. A highlight of the breakfast meeting was local radio personality and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Action Partnership Ron Errett moderating a panel discussion among local business leaders and fielding questions from the audience of 75+ to learn more about the challenges they are experiencing with regard to the health status of their workforces.

Among the issues identified were: aging employees at higher risk of developing chronic disease, economic deprivation among families resulting in employees who lack awareness about healthy lifestyle choices and employees who utilize health care for cures rather than prevention.

Panel participant Robert C. Jackson, Jr., CEO of Grove City Medical Center believes that moving forward, equal measures of "Messaging and momentum are necessary to drive attention to health issues and how they affect our workforces. If we can help improve the individual health of one small segment at a time, our work will be meaningful," he said.

Closing remarks by Janet Bargh, Director of the Division of Health Planning for the Pennsylvania Department of Health included her compliments to CHPMC for their success in fostering a collaborative relationship among the health providers in Mercer County for the good of the population. "This is an extremely forward thinking group of leaders who are truly making a difference," she said "and I will be sharing this with my colleagues in Harrisburg."
 

Mercer County District Attorney, whose idea it was for CHPMC to engage local business owners and provide for them a forum to share their concerns and issues related to the health of their workforces, and panel participant Robert C. Jackson, Jr., CEO of Grove City Medical Center.

Panel participants Robert C. Jackson, Jr., Grove City Medical Center, Lizette Olsen, Chair of the CHPMC, Jerry Nighswander, Chadderton Trucking, Matthew Wilson, Deist Industries, Inc., John Lechner, Mercer County and Scott Kalmanek, Joy Cone Company.