Assessing access to health care, dental care, and prescription medication: The Healthy Community Council needs assessment

The Healthy Community Council (HCC) is a coalition established with the mission to increase the quality of life for those residing in the community. One goal of the HCC has been to assess the needs of the community every four or five years. The HCC members identify priorities based on the assessment data and assist with the planning and implementation of community initiatives around the focus areas. Data from the 2006 assessment, identified access to health services as a priority focus area for the community. In 2007, the Harrisonburg Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center, was established based on data from the 2006 community needs assessment.

In late 2010, a community health assessment was conducted and access to health services was evaluated. Data from the assessment was compared with Healthy People 2020 objectives. Approximately 5.6% of those completing the survey stated that they had problems getting needed health care (HP 2020 goal = 4.2%). Another 6.5% stated that they had problems getting needed dental care compared to the HP 2020 goal of 6.5%. In assessing the ability to obtained needed medicine, 3.7% of the respondents stated that they had difficulty in obtained needed prescriptions. This is above the HP 2020 objective of 2.8%.

When assessing access to health care, dental care and prescription drug availability, the HCC community falls below the Healthy People 2020 objectives. This data will be beneficial in identifying areas to focus resources within the community during the next five years.