The Callaway County Health Department is trying to identify gaps in medical, dental and mental health care services in the county and it is looking for help from the community.
The health department is hosting a series of meetings seeking input from local residents about what their health needs are. According to a press release from the health department, each 1 1/2-hour session will include a brief summary of a recently-completed countywide health care needs assessment before opening up for community input.
"These meetings provide a chance to have open and informal health care discussions with neighbors and community leaders and to help point the way to better health services for all of us," County Health Director Sharon Lynch said in the release.
On March 29 the health department will hold meetings at 8 a.m. at the Holts Summit Civic Center, 2:30 p.m. at the Callaway County Health Department and 6:30 p.m. at the Callaway Electric Cooperative Building.
On March 30 the health department will hold meetings at 7 a.m. at Fulton City Hall, 10 a.m. at the Calwood Community Center and at noon at Auxvasse Community Hall.
Lynch said Thursday the meetings are the next step in a process that actually got started several years ago.
She explained that after the health department and the YMCA of Callaway County worked together on a community health assessment in 2008, one of the major needs not being met at that time was adult dental care.