Beginning in fall 2021, our team spent time understanding the data and uncovering what issues were affecting the most people in our community. We also interviewed community leaders to find out what they’re most concerned about. To identify the significant health issues in our community, our key partners reviewed data and discussed the facts and circumstances of our community. We used the following criteria to identify significant health issues:

● Data is related to past health priorities

● Data reflects a concerning trend related to size or severity

● Significant disparities exist

● Issue surfaced as a topic of high community concern

● County data deviates notably from the region, state or benchmark

Once our team assessed the data, we presented key health issues to a wide range of partners and community members. The participants used the information we presented to score each issue, and then vote for their top areas of concern. They considered the severity of the issue, the relevancy of the issue, and the feasibility in improving the issue.

The suicide mortality rate has been steadily increasing since 2009-2013 in Polk County. The current age-adjusted rate is 25.9 per 100,000 population in 2015-2019. This is the highest rate in the region and higher than both the WNC regional mean (19.8) and the state (13.4) in 2015-2019. 

Mental Health was identified as a priority because it is not soley how a person thinks, feels, or behaves. A person's mental health can affect every aspect of their life including their ability to deal with stress, resilency levels, and their ability to build sustaining relationships. Mental health is important through every stage of life from childhood all the way through adulthood. The desire for Polk County is to have a community full of members who have a zest for living, self-confident, a sense of contentment, and the ability to bouce back from adversity. We hope for a community with readily available resources that anyone can access stigma free. 

The following actions have been identified by our partners including the Polk County Mental Health Advisory Community Committee as ideas for what can work to help make a difference with this priority.

Actions and Approaches Identified by Our Partners These are actions and approaches that our partners think can make a difference on mental health.

• Wrap-around connected services network

• 24-hour crisis services

• Prevention-oriented programs

• Avoiding advancement of acute issues

• Improved education resources

• Enhanced funding options

• Expansion of Mobile Crisis

What is Currently Working in Our Community These are actions and approaches that are currently in place in our community to make a difference on mental health.

• Mental Health First Aid trainings

• Support groups

• School-based services

• School Wellness Initiative

• Family/Youth support partners

• Telehealth

• Crisis lines

• Blue Ridge School Health Clinic

Evidence-Based Strategies These are actions and approaches that have been shown to make a difference on mental health.

• Gatekeeper trainings

• Care management

What Community Members Most Affected by Mental Health Say These are the actions and approaches recommended by members of our community who are most affected by mental health.

• Increased funding

• Increase in Peer Support Specialists

• Increase in services for uninsured and low-income

The partners who can play a role in this priority include members of the Polk County Mental Health Advisory Committee and: 

• Polk County Health and Human Services Agency

• St. Luke's Hospital

• Vaya Health

• The Free Clinics

• Senior Life Solutions

• Private therapists/ Primary care providers

• Blue Ridge Community Health

• Blue Ridge School Clinic Providers

• Family Preservation

• Youth Villages

• AMI Kids

• Psychiatric facilities

• RHA Mobile Crisis

• Magistrates/ law enforcement

• Faith-based communities

• Senior Center

Mental Health and the related result, "All Polk County residents to have access to mental health resources in a timely and effective manner", are aligned with the following Healthy NC 2030 health indicators and desired results:

• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's) - Improve Child Well-being

• Suicide Rate- Improve Access and Treatment for Mental Health Needs