We hear it time and again: West Virginia is the unhealthiest state in the country. We have high rates of obesity, diabetes, substance use (including alcohol and tobacco), cancer, heart disease; and we are sedentary.

Now for the good news. West Virginia’s Bureau for Public Health is launching a State Health Assessment that will help officials get a better idea of what is really going on with Mountain State health.

“The SHA is a collaborative process aimed at data collection and analysis to provide an overview of the community’s current health status, needs, and factors that contribute to health outcomes,” it says.

With the information gathered, a five-year plan will be developed “in collaboration with multi-sector partnerships” to work toward improving health outcomes.

“This survey is an opportunity for West Virginians to contribute to improving the health of our state. We want to understand the strengths, health status, and concerns of your community so that we can implement real public health action to address your health priorities,” said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, State Health Officer and Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health. “This is the first step in creating real change to improve health outcomes in West Virginia.”

They can’t take that step if we don’t participate.

You can find the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/32ZRWPC.

It is available through Oct. 9, so there is no time to waste.

Let’s give public health officials real information they can use to help guide the work they do over the next few years. If they don’t get it, we know we’re in for the same old approach. And that is getting us no where.