The Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL) provided mapping and spatial analysis to Northampton’s Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) and Western Massachusetts Center for Healthy Communities as part of their 2011 Community Health Assessment report. The maps were used during the March 23rd public meeting at the Northampton Senior Center.
According to the CDH website:
“The 2011 Community Health Assessment report is the result of a two-year process led by Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Healthy Communities Committee, a subcommittee of the Hospital’s Board of Trustees.”
You can read a summary of the findings and download the full report at CDH’s site
Jewels Rhode ’11, SAL student assistant, spent many hours analyzing survey data provided by CDH and the University of Massachusetts. Jewels also generated locations of community destinations referenced in the door to door survey to provide geographic context for each neighborhood. Jewels grappled with extracting spatial elements of the survey since it was not designed with geographic analysis in mind. One product of her efforts is shown below in the map titled “Improvements Needed to Purchase Healthy Foods”. Additional samples of the Neighborhood Maps displayed at the meeting are also available.
