West Georgia Health is looking for agencies to contribute to a Community Resource Directory meant to reach the low-income, uninsured, minority and chronic disease populations.

On Tuesday, the health system, in collaboration with the Troup County Center for Strategic Planning, United Way of West Georgia and Troup Family Connection, began seeking submissions from all agencies, organizations, churches and any other groups that provide health, legal or social services or assistance to Troup County residents.

The project is a result of a community health needs assessment that West Georgia Health conducted last summer with a series of focus groups involving dozens of various community leaders and health advocates to determine the pressing health needs in Troup County.

“The number one issue that our community health needs assessment identified is the difficulty of accessing health care for many members of our community,” said Jan Nichols, West Georgia Health marketing/community relations director. “As we progressed with our plans for addressing this issue, we quickly realized that the concern extends beyond health services, that it encompasses social, legal and other aspects, as well. So we began collaborating with other agencies in our community to determine ways we can work together to address this issue and ultimately improve the health and well-being of our community.”

The directory is seen as one of the tactics for enhancing access to services was to develop a comprehensive resource directory that can be widely available to members of Troup County.

“Our Troup County Strategic Plan, which was formalized in 2009, identified the need for a comprehensive community resource database, and this need was amplified by the West Georgia Health community needs assessment,” said Kay Durand, Troup County Center for Strategic Planning executive director. “As we started working on this project together, we discovered that many groups and agencies had their own resource guides to assist their respective constituencies. But there was no central place where someone could go to see all the resources available within our community to determine which resources may best fit their needs. So we decided to create this comprehensive directory.”

Any agency, organization or group that offers such services within Troup County is encouraged to visit www.wghealth.org to enter their online submission. The link for submitting entries is prominently located on the home page. The deadline for submission is Monday, March 25.

The health system is putting out a public call to make sure all organizations are included.

“There are plenty of organizations we don’t know about,” Nichols said.

The project is expected to be completed by October, at which time a print version of the Community Resource Directory will be widely distributed throughout Troup County. A digital version of the directory will be housed permanently on the West Georgia Health website and linked to websites of various other community organizations for easy public access.

“United Way of West Georgia applauds the efforts of West Georgia Health on compiling a comprehensive resource directory for our community,” said Patty Youngblood, United Way of West Georgia president and a collaborator for the project. “It has been many years since we have had one and it will be a tremendous benefit to those seeking resources for themselves or others.”

For questions, please email resources@wghealth.org or call (706) 845-3600.