The Berrien County Health Department has announced a new partnership to study the social determinants of health in the community so better health policies can be drafted.

Berrien County Health Officer Guy Miller tells us a state grant has made it possible to hire Laurel Health Advisors LLC to study the environmental and socioeconomic factors in Berrien County that affect the health of residents.

“The important thing about social determinants of health, they’re often things we’re born into or we kind of inherit,” Miller said. “We don’t get to pick where we grow up, where we get to go to school, the types of education, the types of environment we grow up in, that we play in. We don’t always get a choice on those.”

Laurel Health Advisors will work with the Be Healthy Berrien Consortium to identify how things beyond the control of residents affect their health in different communities.

“It’s trying to make sure that people who don’t have these really great predictors to health still have the same opportunity to achieve a high health status.”

Miller says things like transportation and the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables can affect a person’s health. The health department will work with Laurel Health Advisors for the next year to develop a strategy for the Healthy Berrien Consortium to better consider those social determinants as it crafts policy.

Miller says this is just one more way the Berrien County Health Department can ensure it’s serving the needs of the whole community.

The cost of the contract with Laurel is $165,000, all grant-funded.