Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are held in person. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, Jan. 5
- Housing Authority, 10 a.m.
Monday, Jan. 9
- Dredging Task Force, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 10
- Nauset Regional High School renovation voting, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Adult Community Center
Thursday, Jan. 12
- Select Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.
Conversation Starter
A Snapshot of Local Health Needs
The results of an Outer Cape Cod health needs assessment are in, and the findings are not surprising. Housing topped the list of needs. It is the main cause of the other two top problems identified by survey respondents: health-care access and food insecurity.
At the Wellfleet Board of Health meeting on Dec. 14, Patrice Barrett of the Barnstable County Dept. of Health and Environment presented the findings of the survey, which polled residents in Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet on health determinants.
Of the 1,020 responses, 279 were from Wellfleet, Barrett said. Though a full written report has not been released, Barrett discussed some of the regional and Wellfleet-specific findings.
According to census data, Barrett said, 392 people are living in poverty in Wellfleet, she said, which is 11 percent of the population of 3,566.
Survey respondents submitted 80 pages of comments on what they see as the problems of living here and what their top concerns are for the next 10 years. Housing topped the list by far, Barrett said.
“Housing underpins everything,” she said.
Health-care access came in second. Residents’ difficulties getting to see a doctor is the direct result of health-care workers being unable to afford to live here, she said. While most people had a physician (966 out of 1,020), about half of those said they do not feel they have adequate access to health care, Barrett said.
The majority of those who have a primary care doctor (606 respondents) said that provider was with Outer Cape Health Services.
As for food insecurity, 12 percent of the respondents said they did not get enough food in the past week, Barrett said. “I was really taken aback,” she said.
The survey captured a small sample of the total population, Barrett noted. The Wellfleet responses, for example, were from only 8 percent of residents. Response rates were only slightly higher in the other two towns, Barrett said.
Winning a $500,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant could help. The grant funds would be used to hire a nurse, a licensed clinical social worker, and a certified nursing assistant who would serve all four towns of the Outer Cape.
The four towns have applied for the grant with the help of Outer Cape Community Solutions, a rural health network providing collaborative solutions to systemic health issues. Their letter of intent has been accepted by Barnstable County officials, and the application process is underway, Barrett said. Grant recipients will be notified by April. —K.C. Myers
