The Goal One software will be described. It includes child and family information, a tracking program from birth, and county resources with a mapping program (PC ARC/INFO, ArcView 2.1) . Using this type of program will allow for compiling of a county resources directory, mailing of immunization reminders, and providing maps, as needed, to service locations. The software provides for a unlimited number of resources to be entered into a computer. this resource database will grow into a powerful tool to quickly see which community resources can be tapped to provide the needed services for improving young children's quality of life. The Geographical Information System supports client-improved services. Resources have been geographically located (position noted on a hard copy and digital map) and given an agency identification number that corresponds to its listing in the Directory. It will allow a service worker to locate any entity on a detailed map and query the database for its associated attributes. There are numerous "layers" of information such as health services, schools, community service agencies, fire and police departments, emergency services, and child care agencies. Each of these and many more can be overlaid with each other and a series of base layers like cities, roads and miscellaneous geographic points.
While geographical information systems (GISs) are relatively new to the health care field, Jersey Coast Health Planning Council (JCHPC)/Local Advisory Board VI (LAB VI), has taken an innovative step in the planning field by integrating GIS into several project areas. In doing so, this regional health planning board funded by the New Jersey Department of Health sought out the services of VERTICES, a GIS consulting firm providing services in the health care industry. Together, JCHPC and VERTICES have been exploring ways in which GIS can enhance the health planning and decision making processes JCHPC participates in. For instance, under New Jersey's State Health Plan (Chapter 8:100-1.1), identified unmet public health needs due to gaps in health care services may be mitigated through the certificate-of-need (CN) process. During CN proceedings, new or expanding health providers seek recommendation for approval by a LAB (such as JCHPC) to provide the requisite services to a specific region. The means by which a local advisory board arrives at a decision to approve or disapprove a CN application relies heavily on the information provided by each applicant, as well as nonpartisan research performed by LAB staff. Since most CN reviews involve the addition or apportionment of health services, it is crucial to look at the distribution of services (supply side), as well as existing community health service needs (demand side). Therefore, by integrating the spatial analysis component of GIS into the domain of CN reviews, planners are better equipped to resolve the conflict and confusion that often accompany decision making based on numbers and statistics. This paper will serve to (1) illustrate GIS's capacity to enhance and even transform several of JCHPC's planning and research activities, including certificate-of-need review, and (2) heighten awareness regarding GIS application in the health care field.
The databases supporting Enhanced 9-1-1 Emergency Response require the collection and vigilant update of resident, telephone and response-agency information. It is of critical importance to establish road-naming and addressing schemes which are predictable and unambiguous. It is also critical that the territories of responding agencies be clearly delineated for overlay with address ranges. Finally, for the ongoing usefulness of a developed address system, a reliable maintenance program must be defined and carried out, so that conditions do not revert to the now common addressing chaos which must be corrected in the interest of public safety. We discuss the reasons that address conditions are as they are and what steps are commonly taken to correct them. We provide information on the level of detail required to produce an adequate database representation of a community as well as the appropriate mapping technology and data required. There are political and practical issues relating to the collection and interpretation of existing address information. There also are issues relating to the method for maintaining a newly established system. These issues must be dealt with in accomplishing the intended goal, and are discussed as the obstacles which must be surmounted en-route to that goal. Using relational database and GIS-based methods, address and telephone data can be collected and integrated with databases provided by the local telephone-service provider and by the local tax-assessment authority. We will demonstrate how the phone the 9-1-1 database, the phone company service database and the assessor's parcel database can all benefit from a relational link and data integration.