The Dakota County Health Department, in partnership with Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors, launched the Network of Care website on April 1 to provide an array of health care information and tools for the community to utilize.
“Network of Care is really a website designated to help the community gain better access to health care and health care information. It is there to aid the community and it is a valuable resource that people can take advantage of,” said Tiffany Paulson, director of the Dakota County Health Department. “It is a huge driver not only in health care but in the state of Nebraska to have health care collaboration and to provide the community the most amount of information about their health as possible, and Network of Care offers a wealth of resources for the community to use.”
The website can be accessed by clicking on the Network of Care logo on the bottom of Dakota County Health Department website or by visiting http://dakota.ne.networkofcare.org. Network of care features an array of information and tools regarding health care. It provides information about community health services, laws, related news, personal health record and a variety of other tools.
“This website is really beneficial for the entire community,” said Paulson. “It is beneficial for health professionals because it allows you to go on and look at health indicators that are present in the county. It gives members of the community a good resource to go on and research medical conditions, medications and medical services available. It really is a wealth of knowledge.”
The information provided is collected from a variety of sources to get the most well rounded and accurate data. The website offers article links providing information on heath care safety, vaccinations, preparedness, and environmental health, amongst other topics. The website also provides a medication library where individuals can research prescriptions and information on medical procedures.
It also has several interactive tools to better direct individuals with their health care. Individuals can set up their own personal health record account to record their health care history. The secured tool allows the registered user to record their medications, emergency contacts and allergies and grant access to their heath care professionals to view it.
“The heath indicators is one of the really neat aspects of this website for the community to utilize,” said Paulson. “For us it is really useful because we can look at things on a larger scale. It gives us access to information to help us evaluate our community personally for things we can improve on. Model practices help us all the time because we can look at what other communities are doing to impact certain drivers in the community and then possibly use that model practice with our own take on it and implement it here in Dakota County.”
“This website is giving the community access to the necessary tools in order to help direct them with their health care. We want people to know that it is out there and they have access to it. It is a good resource to use,” said Paulson.
According to Paulson, this website is meant to be used as a medical resource. It does not replace medical advice and treatments from a family practice or doctor.
For more information regarding Network of Care, contact the Dakota County Health Department.