December 2, 2015

Seminole County Residents Encouraged to Attend Community Dialogue Session

Contact: Tiffani McDaniel, Public Information Officer
Media Desk: 407-665-3374 and 321-200-7805

Sanford, Fla.– The Florida Department of Health in Seminole County (DOH-Seminole) in association with the Central Florida Community Benefit Collaboration invites Seminole County residents to attend the 1^st Annual Community Dialogue Session.

The 1^st Annual Community Dialogue Session will take place on Monday, December 7, 2015 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in DOH-Seminole’s Auditorium, 400 West Airport Boulevard, Sanford, Florida. Food will be provided. To register for the free session, contact Terry Geathers at 407-665-3230 or Terry.Geathers@flhealth.gov. Attendees will be entered in a drawing for a $100 gift card.

"Meeting with people about health care, public safety, transportation, and other quality of life issues is so important,” said Dawn Emerick, Principle and Owner for Impact Partners, LLC. “Health care and public health leaders across Central Florida are seeking input from the community to help plan and deliver needed services to live healthy and prosperous lives."

The Community Dialogue Session will give residents an opportunity to learn, discuss, and provide input on healthy communities, homelessness, health equity, and access to care. Attendees will also have a platform to speak directly with community leaders and highlight successful efforts and challenges related to dialogue topics.

“We need to identify other barriers that affect people’s health such as access to health care, education, transportation, livable wages, and the physical environment which they live,” said Dr. Swannie Jett, Health Officer for DOH-Seminole. “Furthermore, we need to focus on upstream approaches before people become ill such as prevention. We should avoid operating a sick care system and the Community Dialogue Session will provide that platform.”

Seminole County has experienced a slow but steady population growth over the past decade. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population in Seminole County was approximately 432,577 in 2010. Seminole County has a non-white population of thirty-one percent, with the smallest portion being non-Hispanic Blacks (12%). A higher percentage of Black (33.6%) and Hispanic (21.8%) households have incomes below $25,000 than White (10%) households in Seminole County. Educational attainment of Seminole County residents has little resemblance to the nation and State of Florida. A higher percentage of Whites (23.2%) have attained bachelor degrees compared to Blacks (14.2%) and Hispanics (18.2%).

Visit seminolecohealth.com for more information. The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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