WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Results of a needs-assessment questionnaire, distributed jointly by Sturgis Hospital and Three Rivers Health, have been released.
Following several months of compiling and analyzing data, the two health centers are spreading word of the survey results.
According to the St. Joseph County 2012 Community Health Needs Assessment, issues associated with mental health were a concern for 53 percent of survey respondents.
Other findings include:
*Methamphetamine labs and meth lab clean-up efforts were included as a mental health concern among survey respondents.
*St. Joseph County has a higher age-adjusted rate for suicide on average than the state of Michigan. Between 2007 and 2011, St. Joseph County’s age-adjusted suicide rate was 14.9 per 100,000 population compared to Michigan’s age-adjusted rate of 11.8 per 100,000 population.
* Data from the Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services/MDCH reveals that St. Joseph County has the highest rate of individuals presenting for substance-use-disorder treatment who indicate meth as their primary substance of abuse.
*In 2010, 104 of the state’s 760 Meth labs identified by the Michigan State Police were in St. Joseph County.
