Mercer County, Pa. - In a bid to address the dire health outcomes in Mercer County, the Buhl Regional Health Foundation created a task force comprising of stakeholders and change leaders from various health networks.

The task force, which has been meeting for over a year, is dedicated to addressing the critical health disparities in the county and improving the overall well-being of its residents.

"It's not just the care that's provided in the doctor's office or in the hospital or in the emergency room that matters but its things that happens in between those visits that really have a significant driver in health outcomes," Dr. George Garrow with Primary Health Network said. "We call those social drivers of health or social determinants of health that many of your listeners may be familiar with."

The Pennsylvania Department of Health ranks Mercer County 58th out of 67 counties when it comes to health outcomes like obesity, smoking, poor physical activity and premature deaths.

That alarming data prompted heath leaders to take action. They recognize that addressing social barriers, such as housing, food insecurity, transportation issues, health literacy and the growing epidemic of loneliness, is crucial to improving health outcomes.

"Recently the Surgeon General published a white paper that said that the epidemic of loneliness has a significant impact on our health, physical and mental health, greater than or equal to obesity for example," Dr. Garrow said. "Surveying and asking our patients what barriers do you have that are present today that are preventing you from achieving optimum health? Is it, I don't know where I am going to get my next meal? Is it, I don't know where I am going to sleep tonight? Is it, I don't know how I can afford my insulin because I am on a fixed income and my grocery costs are going through the roof? Those are the sorts of things that aren't necessarily taught in medical school but it is such an important part of health."

The approach for the task force is comprehensive, aiming to address a wide range of health determinants, including recognizing the unique challenges faced by older individuals, access to healthy food and combating the effects of living in a food desert.

"All of a sudden, the leaders of the health system, we really started to focus on things that maybe don't happen in our office or hospital but really have a significant impact on the health of our community and I'm so excited to work and think differently," Dr. Garrow said.

The task force has set its sights on two key goals. First, they aim to emphasize equitable and inclusive access to care for everyone in Mercer County. Second, they are working on establishing strong connections between numerous social service agencies in the community.

"It has opened my eyes to the prevalence and impact of isolation, particularly in our older neighbors and it has really challenged me to think how can we help people to reconnect and have healthy relationships with one another," Dr. Garrow said.

Dr. Garrow hopes the solutions they come up with here can help the other counties who are also struggling.

"We're hoping that we can share what we learn by working collaboratively and collectively in Mercer County to other counties across the commonwealth so that we can help to elevate the improvement in health and health outcomes for everybody across the state."