Community Health Needs Assessment

On March 23, 2012 it became a requirement for all hospital organizations operating a state-licensed hospital facility to compete a community health needs assessment (CHNA) at least every three years. The report must include a description of the community the hospital serves, the process and methods used to complete the assessment, input from persons representing the interest of the community, a prioritized description of the community health needs and a description of the existing health care facilities and available resources in the community. The CHNA must be available to the public by being posted on the hospital or organizational website. Hospitals must develop a written plan addressing each need identified in the CHNA, as well as provide implementation strategies for meeting the community needs (Adams, 2011). In the given case study, Trinity Community Hospital has complete their CHNA by identifying the communities major risk factors, ill health causes and actions required to address these issues. Trinity Hospital’s CHNA targets cancer, orthopedics and cardiovascular services within the hospitals primary service region. To complete the assessment the hospital utilized information from epidemiology surveys, planning guidelines from state healthcare facilities, physician interviews, interviews with other healthcare professionals and community focus groups.
A.1. Major Risk Factors Identified in the Assessment
Oncology Services In the evaluation of oncology services, the CHNA identifies that 15% of the population will be over 65 within the next five years. The CHNA also identifies that 50% of men and 33% of women are expected to develop cancer during their lifetime and that new cancer cases are expected to grow from 3,200 in the present year to 4,282 in five years (an increase of 34%). The assessment also