CCNC Supports Healthy Communities NC Data Tool
Publicly available, free data dashboard provides insights and visualizations of neighborhood level social determinants of health data across housing, education, public health, economic opportunity and more
Raleigh, N.C. (July 14, 2022) -- Community Care of North Carolina, Inc. (CCNC) is pleased to announce its support of the Healthy Communities data tool. Spearheaded by the Cape Fear Collective, a nonprofit organization using data science techniques to gain healthcare insights, the Healthy Communities tool enables community members, non-profits, and government agencies free access to data and analytics tools to drive improvements in the 21 key social determinants metrics highlighted in the Healthy NC 2030 report issued by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
“Numerous studies indicate that medical care only accounts for around 20 percent of health outcomes with the balance attributable to social determinants of health (SDOH) such as income, physical and social environments, housing conditions, nutrition, transportation and working conditions,” said Tom Wroth, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Community Care of North Carolina, Inc (CCNC). “That’s why we are excited to join with the Cape Fear Collective and partners Novant Health and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in supporting the creation of unique statewide tools to measure the local conditions impacting these critical social determinants of health. We hope to use this data to help us gain the necessary insights to improve patient health outcomes across the state.”
The public database, accessible at https://healthycommunitiesnc.org/community-data provides neighborhood-level data, insights, and visualizations across all 100 counties and 2,195 census tracts in North Carolina.
“This tool provides insight into which neighborhoods and populations are experiencing health disparities, as well as whether we’re moving the needle on closing those gaps,” said Nicholas Pylypiw, director of data science for the Cape Fear Collective. “Organizations are already leveraging this tool, easily dropping data and visualizations into their reports, presentations, and grant applications.”
“In addition to supporting the effort to build the data dashboard, we believe CCNC can help provide a natural laboratory to test possible health interventions that take social determinants of health into account,” said Dr. Wroth. “We partner closely with Community Care Physician Network, a statewide, clinically-integrated network of more than 3,000 clinician at more than 900 locations across our state. This will provide opportunities to test pilot programs that leverage local information about SDOH factors to improve health outcomes. If we are to substantially improve North Carolina’s health rankings – SDOH factors simply must be addressed in more proactive terms. We hope CCNC can help provide some insights and practical “best practices” that help providers boost the health of North Carolina’s population.”
About Community Care of North Carolina
From the mountains to the coast, from large cities to small towns, Community Care of North Carolina is transforming health care. Our staff work with local primary care physicians and diverse teams of health professionals to develop whole-person plans of care that connect people to the right local resources. We work closely with a statewide, clinically-integrated network to preserve local access to care by helping independent primary care practices provide cost-effective, high-quality care, thrive financially and maximize satisfaction with the practice of medicine for providers and patients alike.
For more information, visit www.communitycarenc.org.
About Cape Fear Collective
Cape Fear Collective is a nonprofit using data science techniques to gain insights, mobilizing private sector capital through impact investing programs, and supporting cross-sector collaboration towards equitable systemic change in Southeastern North Carolina. Our work is centered on collaborating with community partners to leverage local assets, illuminate actionable insights, and catalyze innovative programming.
To learn more, visit www.capefearcollective.org.
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