KESHENA, WI – Community members and local partners gathered at the College of Menominee Nation on Monday to help identify the biggest health priorities facing Shawano and Menominee counties.
The Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department held its Community Health Assessment meeting with approximately 35 people participating between the in-person and virtual sessions. Health Director Nick Mau said 13 people joined online, with representation coming from Shawano County, Menominee County and the Menominee Tribe.
“Given that we’re towards the end of summer, school is starting, it’s a Monday in the summer, we had about 35 participants,” Mau said. “I was really pleased with the turnout.”
Breakout Groups
Participants reviewed several areas impacting community health before voting on which issues should receive the most attention moving forward.
Among the social determinants of health, housing emerged as the top priority, followed by transportation. Mau said both issues continued to surface during conversations about other health concerns.
Health Factor #1
Living in a rural area can mean traveling significant distances for medical and dental appointments, making reliable transportation an important part of healthcare access. Housing, however, stood above the other concerns because of its connection to nearly every aspect of a person’s health.
“If someone doesn’t have a safe place over their head to sleep at night, all those other things kind of go to the wayside,” Mau said. “It really boiled down to housing being the most important.”
Mental health ranked as the top behavioral health concern during the meeting. Substance use and tobacco use also received significant attention.
Health Factors 2 and 3
Mau said vaping has continued to evolve in recent years as new products and devices have become available, adding another challenge for public health officials addressing tobacco and substance use.
Healthcare access was also identified as a priority under clinical care, with transportation again playing a role. Mau said that issue could become increasingly important as the area’s population ages.
“We’re going to see that 65 and older population really increase in the next 10 years,” Mau said. “As people age, they’re going to need more support to get those appointments and attend those appointments as well.”
When participants turned their attention to environmental health, water quality rose to the top, while radon was also discussed as a concern.
Health Factor #4
Mau said those issues are not unique to Shawano and Menominee counties and are influenced by the geography and geology of northeastern Wisconsin. He encouraged homeowners with private wells to understand their responsibility for monitoring their own water quality.
“If we have private wells at the home level, you are your own water treatment manager,” Mau said, emphasizing the importance of regular testing and understanding what steps can be taken if problems are discovered.
The Community Health Assessment process typically operates on a five-year cycle, although the most recent process was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and capacity challenges within the Health Department.
Mau said officials hope to complete the current assessment and potentially align future planning with ThedaCare, creating additional opportunities for collaboration. Depending on the direction selected by the steering committee, the next Community Health Improvement Plan could operate on a three-year cycle.
The priorities identified during Monday’s meeting will help guide the next steps as the Health Department works with community partners to determine where resources and initiatives can have the greatest impact across Shawano and Menominee counties.
Final Results
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