Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for 2021 is complete. CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington and Foster County Public Health (FCPH) partnered on the semi-annual study.
The 2021 CHNA process identified the top health needs of people in Foster and Eddy County:
1. Mental health for all ages (includes depression/anxiety/suicide/stress)
2. Ability to retain primary care providers and nurses
3. Enough child daycare services
4. Alcohol use & abuse (all ages)
With the top health needs identified, healthcare leaders are ready to roll up their sleeves and engage community members to make positive changes.
“Our top three areas of need in Carrington are the same for all the Critical Access Hospitals that completed a survey this year,” Mariann Doeling, Market President for CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington, stated.
The ability to retain primary care providers and nurses has been among the top needs of the past few CHNAs. It’s no surprise that it’s a concern, given that the vast majority of community members look to experienced healthcare providers for health information. Primary care providers are the most sought after, followed by other healthcare professionals and public health professionals, according to survey results.
The survey also revealed the biggest barriers to receiving healthcare locally, as perceived by community members. They included not enough specialists, not enough evening or weekend hours and concerns about confidentiality.
The data from County Health Rankings shows that while Foster County is meeting or exceeding the U.S. Top 10% in all five health outcomes measured, they are performing worse than the state average in seven individual health factors.
The CHNA offers a 360 degree view of healthcare and related services and outlines the factors that both positively and negatively contribute to the health of people in the area. It’s not something that just sits on a shelf.
“The biggest thing that comes out of the CHNA as a whole is collaboration,” Lisa Hilbert, Public Health Administrator for Foster County Public Health, explained. Multiple agencies come together to bring positive changes, education and services.
Mental health has risen to the top of our collective consciousness over the past few years. In fact, respondents were asked an open-ended question about what specific healthcare services, if any, they think should be added locally. The number one desired service to add locally was mental health services.
Mental health is the largest priority for FCPH, which was ranked the #1 health need in the 2021 CHNA. Hilbert outlined several programs FCPH has already organized to address mental health, including suicide prevention programming.
Hilbert said one of the mental health initiatives the coalition is working to organize is an Out of the Darkness Walk in September. These community walks started by the American Society for Suicide Prevention have been held in hundreds of cities across the country since 2004.
The goal is to raise awareness about suicide while honoring survivors and remembering those our community has lost to suicide.
“(Suicide) goes well beyond the walls of a home,” said Hilbert. “It affects a community.”
Hilbert referenced the Carrington Area Healthy Communities Coalition, a group of community members who work together on various healthcare-related strategies and programs. Michelle Seil is the president of the coalition.
CHI, FCPH and other partners will engage in developing a Community Health Implementation Plan in the coming months.
“There are so many great working relationships. That collaboration and willingness to work together makes for a lot bigger impact,” Hilbert said.
One major benefit of the CHNA is that it can be useful for obtaining funds for specific projects.
With detailed data and needs identified, the CHNA is a great resource for them in writing grants and funding proposals.
Anyone interested in any of those topics is asked to connect with the Carrington Area Healthy Communities Coalition through their website, https://healthycarrington.org/ or by email at [email protected]. You may also reach out to Lisa at Foster County Public Health or Tony Dukart at CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington.
The full CHNA report is available to download online at https://www.chistalexiushealth.org/community-health-need-assessments
