The assessment brings together folks from the major players: all three hospital systems, Austin Public Health, Integral Care (the county’s mental health authority), the Travis County Health and Human Services, UT Health Houston’s School of Public Health, Central Health (the county’s hospital district), Cap Metro and the city’s Public Works Department. Austin Public Health also invited representatives from the community to share their real-life experience.
“These assessments give us a clear call to action — honest data and community voice to confront persistent inequities and advance a healthier Austin Travis County for all,” said Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup.
The report doesn’t deliver any solutions, but it will feed the next step, which is creating the Community Health Improvement Plan next year with the same group participation and community feedback. That process will begin Jan. 23 with a launch meeting. Kodjo Dodo, who leads these projects as the manager of the planning and evaluation unit at Austin Public Health, expects that report to be out in September. The ideas that immerge will then be implemented in 2027.
“It takes a lot to get there,” Dodo said about the process from assessment to improvement plan to implementing new programs. After the last assessment, Austin Public Health created a program to raise mental health awareness and access to resources for the immigrant community, which makes up 17.3% of the county’s population and 18.1% of Austin’s population.
“The needs of our community continue to evolve as we see rising issues with opioids, stress and just finding healthy food to eat,” said Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes.
Let’s take a look at some of the findings in the Community Health Assessment: