Understanding the Valley Region: 2016 Valley Community Index

This report is part of an ongoing, 20-year tradition of analyzing the economy, health, and quality of life of the Valley region. The effort has included the 1996 Healthy Valley Report, the 2001 Mt. Auburn Report, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center Community Health Profile, the 2010 Valley Cares Report, the 2013 Griffin Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment, and the Naugatuck Valley Health District’s 2013-2015 Community Health Improvement Plan. In 2014, in response to the local desire for more comprehensive data collection, the Valley Community Foundation convened a new Advisory Committee and engaged DataHaven to produce The Valley Now: A 2015 Snapshot, a brochure on baseline indicators of community well-being. 

The 2016 Valley Community Index: Understanding the Valley Region report is written by Mary Buchanan and Mark Abraham of DataHaven, with assistance from staff at the Valley Community Foundation. It relies on data from federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as information collected directly from more than 1,000 Valley residents as part of the statewide 2015 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey. The report also serves as a Community Health Needs Assessment for Griffin Hospital.

An 8-page executive summary of the full report is also posted on the Valley Community Foundation website.