Agenda - 05-18-2010 - 8b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Health Services Assets and 0p p ertunit1es This section analyzes Hillsborough's health care service providers and explores two potential models for health care delivery that could serve as anchoring institutions for the Cornelius Street area. Health care services were first considered for the Cornelius Street corridor based on public input gathered for the US 70 /Cornelius Street Task Force report. Residents expressed a desire for greater access to medical services, particularly urgent care and dialysis. Given the aging population of the town, health care could be a compatible use for Cornelius Street. Discussion with Town staff and local real estate brokers also identified health care offices and related services as desired uses, compatible with the many mixed land uses targeted for the corridor. A health service center on Cornelius Street could encourage related or supportive development, such as other medical offices or suppliers, or the development of unrelated uses that would nonetheless meet the needs of future employees and current residents: for example, restaurants and retail. In either scenario, there would be an increase in services available to residents of the adjoining neighborhoods and the town as a whole. Development of this nature could also provide valuable employment Opportunities for Hillsborough residents. In order to fully assess the appropriateness of health services as a development strategy for Cornelius Street, the project team inventoried Hillsborough's existing health assets using information available from a number of sources and sites, including: the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce; major area health care providers such as Duke Health, UNC Health Care and Piedmont Health; North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services and its Center for Health Statistics; and several state and national directories of health care and service providers. County level data were also used to inform the asset mapping process. This is because in some cases, data is not available at a smaller disaggregated level. This was also done in recognition of the fact that as a small town, Hillsborough functions as part of a bigger region. The inventory was analyzed and used to produce an asset map. What is an Asset Map? An asset map is an inventory and analysis of resources and capacity within a certain industry or service cluster. Analyses such as these can be used to identify currents strengths and critical gaps or shortfalls. From these insights, policy makers can develop recommendations on how to leverage existing assets toward the achievement of development goals. The North Carolina Community Health Assessment Initiative, a state -wide program, considers asset mapping as a critical step in the larger strategy aimed at bettering community health. 25