In taking the temperature of El Paso County to determine the overall health of more than 744,200 residents, four areas of concern stand out in the 2023 Community Health Assessment, released Monday by the county public health department.

Eliminating barriers to accessing physical and mental health care, preventing drug overdoses, increasing housing stability and decreasing deaths by suicide are the most urgent issues when it comes to residents having the opportunity to achieve optimal health, according to the report that the El Paso County Public Health department is federally mandated to conduct every five years.

The 92-page report is based on exhaustive data collection and analysis from the Healthy Community Collaborative, a public health department-led group of more than 60 representatives from local schools, hospitals, nonprofits, businesses and other sectors.

“It’s not just local data in isolation, but it’s local data partnered with community input and insight to bring together a variety of perspectives that inform our priority issues and assessment of community capacity to take action on these issues,” said Deann Ryberg, deputy director of El Paso County Public Health.

The community is facing many complex challenges, which is why the assessment is important, she said.

“When we have more than 60 community stakeholders looking at our local health data and arriving with unity, a vision and a voice to say these are four issues critical to the well-being of our community, that

sends a powerful message about these issues,” Ryberg said.

Drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl doubled year-over-year statewide from 2018 to 2021, including in El Paso County. Accidental overdose deaths that included fentanyl, a strong synthetic opioid, increased by 16% in 2022, which represented a flattening of the doubling rate of the preceding five years. Of the county’s 216 drug-related accidental deaths in 2022, 115 included fentanyl. An additional two deaths by suicide also used fentanyl.

The average age at death of fentanyl overdose was 36 years old in 2022, compared with an average age at death of 48 years old for non-fentanyl drug deaths, according to the county coroner’s office.

A 10% increase in suicides in 2022 pushed the total to a county high of 194. Although suicide deaths also are considered to have leveled off in recent years, like fentanyl overdoses, self-inflicted fatalities remain at historically high levels.

The 2023 annual coroner’s report has not yet been released.

Prioritizing addressing accidental drug overdoses and suicide deaths using any means is intertwined with residents’ ability to obtain mental health care, Ryberg said.

“We see this emphasis shared across the community with work being done and dialogue, as it relates to concern for drug overdoses and accessing behavioral health services,” she said.

The fourth area, housing stability, is “a critical issue that sets a solid foundation for health,” Ryberg said.

“We know people being insecure in their housing puts them at increased risk for poor health outcomes,” she said. “There’s increased concern in the community about the cost of housing and the portion of family incomes dedicated to rent and housing as a critical issue.”

Mental health topics, including suicide prevention, also were predominant in the previous County Health Assessment, which covered 2018-2022. The assessment and subsequent action plan were determined before the pandemic but helped strengthen local response to COVID-19 by establishing community partnerships before the crisis happened, Ryberg said.

The last plan also produced a Youth Suicide Prevention Work Group, which formed to work on prevention measures. Mobile units for the federal Women, Infants and Children assistance program also were adopted, and revitalizing Panorama Park in a low-income neighborhood in southeast Colorado Springs came out of the previous needs assessment, which also had identified healthy eating and active living as areas needing improvement.

A new Community Health Improvement Plan soon will be launched, based on the priorities in the new assessment, Ryberg said.

“This report matters because it sets a foundation for us to work across the community to address these issues,” she said. “This creates a unified picture for us to combine resources, initiatives and collaboration across these areas. This speaks to an ongoing commitment in our community to address these challenging issues and enhance stakeholder engagement, combined awareness and response, and a maintained focus.”