Allegheny County releases public health plan for next 5 years

Jan. 24—As Allegheny County transitions between health directors and is poised to elect a new county executive this year, its Health Department has released a plan that lays out public health goals for the next five years.

The 2023-27 Plan for a Healthier Allegheny released Monday was completed under former Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen, who now is serving as Pennsylvania's acting secretary of health.

It includes goals to increase access to medical and dental care and to decrease disparities in life expectancy and chronic diseases, according to a release.

"All residents should have the opportunity to lead a healthy life and that is why equity is one of the guiding principles of the plan," said Patrick Dowd, acting Health Department director, in a statement.

The plan — created through a community process with input from thousands of residents as well as community groups — has three main areas of focus: physical health, behavioral health and the environment.

Specific goals for physical health improvements include getting more infants in the county to drink breast milk, getting residents to become more active through the creation of additional trails, increasing residents' medical and dental visits by improving transportation access to appointments and increasing the number of dental providers who accept Medicaid. It also aims to reduce racial disparities in infant mortality by further supporting and promoting related county programs.

In behavioral health, the plan calls for more people receiving mental health and substance abuse treatment, including revising a county rule to make it easier for programs and municipalities to support sterile syringe programs. It also sets a goal of increasing the number of early learning programs for children up to age 5 and enrolling more children in quality child care, preschool and after-school programming.

Goals for improving environmental health include getting more residents in stable housing and reducing the amount of blighted properties in the county, lowering gun violence rates and preparing more communities to become adaptable to climate change. The latter goal includes reducing air pollution emissions by 12% by 2027.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he is pleased Allegheny County is ranked highly in overall health metrics by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, but said there are many places to improve.

"Our residents are seeking an active, healthy lifestyle and are taking proactive steps to improve their health, and we want to do everything we can to encourage that interest," Fitzgerald said. "The Plan for a Healthier Allegheny provides a roadmap to do exactly that."

While the plan lays out health policy goals for the next five years, it's unclear where the plans might lead. Fitzgerald is term-limited, and this is his last year in office.

Several candidates already have announced plans to run for the county's highest elected office, including state Rep. Sara Innamorato, Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb and Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein.

Ryan Deto is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Ryan by email at rdeto@triblive.com or via Twitter .

___

(c)2023 The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

Visit The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.triblive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.