FORT RUCKER, Ala. (June 19, 2014) -- Fort Rucker's Community Health Promotion Council is giving the community a voice by hosting a needs assessment survey, and there is still time for people to submit their opinions.
The installation's CHPC is conducting the first of its installation-wide community strengths and themes assessment survey to collect population data to assess the needs of the community to improve the health and resiliency of Fort Rucker, said Rebekah George, Fort Rucker health promotion officer.
"This survey focuses on how the community feels on health, safety, quality of life and overall satisfaction with the installation," she said. "That's something that we really want to get out because it's a unique opportunity for the community to tell the leaders of Fort Rucker exactly how they feel, what they want and need, and what they would like to see changed."
The survey has been available for more than a month, and participation so far has been average, but George and other officials want to hear from as many on the installation as possible before the survey closes June 30.
"We want to hear your concerns and priorities -- everyone's opinion matters," she said. "Even if one person is the only one to bring a topic to light, that might be a topic that can positively affect the entire community. There is a good chance that a lot of other people feel the same way but have not said anything."
George said that this survey differs from others in that it goes more into detail about certain issues and deals more with how people feel about an issue rather than what they think about a specific program.
"This is not a program assessment, this is a population assessment," she said. "We want to hear what the population has to say about this community, and then what we can do to make it better. It's all based off on what individuals feel about the installation and what they would like to see changed."
Some of the questions tackled in the survey ask about what makes a healthy community, what the individual feels is the most risky behavior conducted in the community, what health problems do they feel need to be addressed in the community, what barriers do they experience when accessing healthcare and what programs they feel are missing on the installation.
The survey also asks about Family readiness groups and the individual's spiritual, emotional and Family needs.
"We need to hear what the community wants and needs in order to address the issues and change them," said the health promotion officer. "We cannot make any changes if we don't know what is going on. That is what this survey is trying to accomplish."
The top priorities and concerns will be directly addressed by Brig. Gen. Michael D. Lundy, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general, as well as the CHPC and workgroups within the CHPC.
The survey is also completely anonymous, added Alexandra Rogers, CHPC program assistant, so people don't need to worry and repercussions for saying how they feel.
"It doesn't matter if you're a Family member, retiree, spouse or Soldier -- your voice will be heard the same," she said. "And if there was not something addressed in the survey that you feel is important, feel free to e-mail us (at usarmy.rucker.avncoe.list.chpc@mail.mil) to bring the issue to light."
George said it generally takes 5-10 minutes to fill out the 42 question survey, depending on how much optional information and comment sections the individual fills out.
The survey can be accessed by https://usaphcapps.amedd.army.mil/Survey/se.ashx?s=251137456E6E1EA5.
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