Successful Partnerships in Completing and Implementing Community Health Needs Assessments: The case of a rural county

Community health needs assessments (CHNA) and implementation strategies that respond to the findings is now required of tax-exempt hospitals as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Although these regulations can serve as an opportunity to improve the health of communities, and an opportunity to improve coordination of hospital community benefits with other community efforts, for many hospitals this integration of services, especially services outside the walls of their institutions have proven a challenge. This has been especially true for hospitals covering rural populations. This paper explores how through partnerships Pocono Health System (PHS) in a rural county in Pennsylvania, facilitated and exploited the benefits of this new regulation.  PHS completed its first CHNA in 2011. The CHNA conducted in partnership with a local university identified the most pressing health needs in the county. The assessment identified mental health, wellness, and preterm births as key health concerns. Immediately after its completion PHS released the findings of the CHNA at a "Community Health Connections" event, which featured a keynote presentation, a moderated panel with community leaders and breakout sessions about the issues. The information gathered through the breakout sessions served as the foundation of the PHS “Community Health Connections” working group with over 20 community partners. As a result the PHS has engaged in the development of an online disease management portal open to all residents, a behavioral health initiative aimed at providing early detection at schools and primary care settings, and a an initiative to improve birth outcomes.