Surveying community health

MHCC opens up Community Health Needs Assessment effective April 1

Providing healthcare for Carbon County is no easy task. With 10 municipalities and a county nearly 8,000 square miles in size, it can be difficult to try and meet the needs of every resident.

That doesn't mean, however, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) isn't trying.

On April 1, formally released their Community Health Needs Assessment.

"Every three years, we go through this process. It needs to be this ongoing evaluation of our health needs within our area across the entire county. As with everything else, healthcare is constantly evolving. It's a continually changing spectrum," said Stephanie Hinkle, marketing and communications director for MHCC. "So, every three years, we get a pulse on the community. By community, I truly mean that we as an organization are truly focused on the entire county. We really want to capture feedback from throughout the entire county."

The timing of the Community Health Needs Assessment, according to Hinkle, falls in line with the budget process for the hospital. MHCC follows a budget cycle which begins on July 1 and ends June 30. Along with going over their annual budget, the MHCC Board of Directors also examines the strategic plan for the hospital. The results of this assessment will be taken into consideration with both of these endeavors, Hinkle said.

"We can take that feedback into account and utilize the comments and the input from the residents of Carbon County to determine 'These are areas of focus, this is what is important to the residents, this is what they're telling us'. So, we can utilize that feedback to incorporate into our strategic planning for the upcoming year as well as the long term," said Hinkle. "Looking ahead to the next three to five years, some of the larger scope projects we can utilize that information for additional planning as well."

On the surface, the survey is fairly simple and has been estimated to take around 15 minutes. That time, however, varies depending on who is taking the survey.

"We say it can take up to 15 minutes but there's certainly some variation in there. There's checkboxes on every single question, so it's very simplistic in that sense," Hinkle said. "If you choose to leave additional comments, there is the opportunity to do that and, of course, we welcome that information. If you choose to spend the time and give that additional feedback outside of the questions that were specifically asked, that's where it can take a little more time."

According to Hinkle, the Community Health Needs Assessment also includes a variety of information and statistics.

"We also provide, within the survey, some current Carbon County statistics in terms of population; health patterns that we have seen from teen birth to adult smoking; physical inactivity; some of the socio-economic factors; access to healthcare; quality of life," said Hinkle. "Given some of that information we have incorporated into the survey, then we ask some things in terms of 'Do you believe that data is accurately reflecting' what they see in our communities."

With that information, respondents to the survey are asked to rank these issues on a scale from one to five; one being of least concern and five being of most concern. Hinkle said the survey goes beyond the surface healthcare needs and includes questions about access to childcare and affordable housing.

"When we say 'health needs assessment', that's a very broad term and we want to look at all the different factors that come into play for an individual," Hinkle said. "If transportation is a barrier, then there's that domino effect. Are they able to get the primary care they need? Are they able to access services they need? There's several things that come into play there if somebody is in a situation where they can't even access something because of barriers such as transportation."

While county residents could certainly go through the assessment and click a few boxes, Hinkle said the more information MHCC receives through the survey the better they can respond to their concerns.

"The more information the better, so we welcome those comments," said Hinkle. "It may not be something that's necessarily a positive piece of feedback but it's feedback and we do take those comments seriously."

The Community Health Needs Assessment can be found under the "news" tab at imhcc.com.

 

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