Emerson Hospital undertook a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) from January through September 2024 to better understand and address the health needs of the Emerson Hospital community and to meet all provisions of section 501(r) of the Affordable Care Act, which requires hospitals to conduct a community health needs assessment and adopt an implementation strategy at least once every three years.
The CHNA report contains secondary data from existing sources such as the U.S. Census, the CDC Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, the Emerson Hospital Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and findings from the 2023 Department of Public Health Community Health Equity Survey.
This report includes input from key informant interviews with community residents and stakeholders, particularly those with special knowledge of local and state public health departments, representatives from councils on aging, and representatives of medically underserved, low-income, and minority populations. Additionally, focus groups were conducted to gather input from food pantry participants, high school students and community members.
Utilizing the dominant themes gathered from the data collection, Emerson Hospital, in partnership with community members and partners, prioritized the following health needs:
- Financial Stability
- Healthcare Access
- Mental Health
The full report presents supporting data for each identified need, as well as additional indicators related to each area of focus. A strong community engagement process was used to utilize this report in developing a Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) implementation strategies to work towards improving the community’s health over the next three years.
To learn more about Emerson's 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment and Strategic Implementation Plan, watch our 2024 Community Health Benefits Open Forum below.
Questions or comments? Contact us at
CommunityBenefits@emersonhosp.org.
