More
evidence of Christian
County’s poor health
includes this: The rate of sexually transmitted disease infections is more than
five times greater than the national level, and the teen pregnancy rate is
nearly 300 percent higher than the national rate.
Pregnancy
among teens who are not ready emotionally or financially to raise healthy
children, and STDs in people of all ages, place burdens on a community that are
felt for generations. There’s the obvious need for medical care, often provided
by the Christian County Health Department and other public agencies that rely
on tax funding. But there’s also a broader problem in the ways that poor sexual
health can thwart a person’s ability to pursue education and earn an
independent living.
New
Era staff writer Nick Tabor’s April 28 story about health statistics for Christian County reveals that we have a long way
to go in diagnosing the root causes of the problem. But the solution to every
big challenge begins at the place leaders decide to act. That means the leaders
in Hopkinsville and Christian County
have to recognize poor sexual health as a burden that affects everyone.
One
place to start is with an acknowledgement that sex is a tough topic. Then maybe
we can begin to learn why so many people are practicing unsafe sex.
There
are many stakeholders in this community who’ve tackled difficult problems in
the past. The League of Women Voters and Challenge House, for example, should
not be overlooked as valuable institutions that can help diagnose the unique
problems that lead to high rates of STDs and teen pregnancy.
Other
institutions that have an obvious role in dealing with this problem include the
health department, local schools and Jennie
Stuart Medical
Center.
And
if the Chamber of Commerce wants to confront one of the biggest hurdles to
improving Christian
County’s quality of life
and long-term economic standing, it will provide some leadership in this area.
The chamber, through the community vision plan, should make health and all its
components a priority.
Maybe
it’s time the health department didn’t operate as an island. This is a problem
that affects all of us.
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