Serving the High Plains

Quay County Health Council conducting survey

QCS Staff

The Quay County Health Council will begin conducting a survey of county residents this week to determine the council’s priorities over the next four years, Alida Brown, the council’s coordinator, said.

Beginning Thursday, survey forms will be available at in village and city offices, senior centers, post offices and in the Tucumcari Library, Brown said.

Forms will also be available at the Quay County Wellness Fair from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, and online through the Quay County Extension Office’s website at http://quayextension.nmsu.edu. Survey forms will also be distributed at community meetings, and the council is still looking for groups that will sponsor survey sessions.

“If you are associated with a group, a club or a church that you think would like to do this survey, please let me know,” Brown said. “I will get the number of copies to you that you need.”

Brown can be reached at the health council office by phone at (575) 461-3506.

“We want to be sure we get this out to every area in the county,” she said.

The council is putting out 1,000 copies of the survey and hopes to receive 500 back.

Survey forms should be turned in by May13 or placed in the mail by May 10, Brown said.

Forms can be turned in to meeting facilitators for public groups or placed in provided envelopes at the office and agency drop-off locations, or may be mailed to the Quay County Health Council, P.O. Box 282, Tucumcari, NM 88401. In addition forms can be turned in at Mental Health Resources, 1005 S. Monroe St., Tucumcari.

The survey is in two parts, the first asks questions such as the following:

•Do you have a regular medical provider in Quay County?

• Do you have a regular dentist in Quay County?

• Do you know where you would seek mental health treatment if you and/or your family members or friends need assistance?

• Do you have medical insurance (including Medicare and Medicaid)?

• Do you have difficulty getting medical care due to lack of transportation?

• Do you support using computer or tele-medicine technology to receive care in Quay County?

In the second part of the survey, respondents are asked to pretend they are allocating shares of $1,000 among health issues, listing facts about each issue.

The issues include child health care, an area in which Quay County has shown the highest risk among the state’s counties; Adult and youth depression; substance abuse; obesity; and availability of health care services.