600 East Superior Street, Suite 404 I Duluth, MN 55802 I 218.727.9390 I www.ruralcenter.org
Navigating Community Health
Assessments
Kami Norland, MA, ATR
Community Specialist
June 2011
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Purpose
The National Rural Health Resource Center is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining and
improving health care in rural communities. As the
nation’s leading technical assistance and knowledge
center in rural health, The Center focuses on five
core areas:
•Performance Improvement
•Health Information Technology
•Recruitment & Retention
•Community Health Assessments
•Networking
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Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act
•For 501c (3) not-for-profit hospitals
•Conduct Community Health Needs
Assessments every 3 years
−represent broad interests of population
−include public health expertise
−develop a strategy to meet community
health needs
−make information widely available to the
public
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Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act
•Meeting requirements preserves status
as not-for-profit facility
•Failure to comply results in a fine up to
$50,000
•Monitored by the IRS through Schedule
H 990 Form
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IRS Schedule H 990 Form
•Requirements must be completed by 2013
•Form includes a checklist of:
–Who (broad population + public health)
–What (health needs identified and
prioritized)
–When (assessment conducted at least 1x/3
years)
–Where (info distributed widely + website)
–How (data was obtained, needs will be met)5
Methods for Listening to
your Community
•Organize a community health coalition
•Gather secondary data
•Conduct a community survey
•Facilitate focus groups
•Establish health priorities
•Sustain health goals
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Organize a Community
Health Coalition
PPACA provision:
−represent broad interests of population
−include public health expertise
•Recruit locals from each facet of the community
•Partner with public health
•Build community champions
•Create urgency
•Share ownership of goals and outcomes
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Gather Secondary Data
PPACA provision:
−include public health expertise
−develop a strategy to meet community needs
•Seek public or county health data
•Compare county to state and national data
•Evaluate top health needs
•Conduct an economic impact assessment
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Conduct a Community
Health Needs Survey
PPACA provision:
−represent broad interests of population
−make info widely available to the public
•Customize survey tool
•Link questions to measurable actions
•Distribute survey throughout the community
•Assess how questions can influence change
•Connect assessment questions to strategic
plans
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Facilitate Focus Groups
PPACA provision:
−represent broad interests of population
−make info widely available to the public
•Drill deeper into identified community needs
•Gain insight from qualitative data
•Expand creative problem solving
•Increase rapport with community members
•Build customer loyalty
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Establish Health Priorities
PPACA provision:
−develop a strategy to meet community needs
−make info widely available to the public
•Investigate root cause of the health need
•Determine magnitude of the health priority
•Evaluate severity of the health priority
•Assess strengths/capacity to act on the health
priority
•Calculate measurable impact or ROI of actions
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Sustain Health Goals
PPACA provision:
−develop a strategy to meet community needs
−make info widely available to the public
•Share ownership with Community Health
Coalition
•Assign tasks that are specific with timelines
•Utilize a framework to measure and monitor
performance; like a Balanced Scorecard
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Community Health Needs
Assessments are About People
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Conclusion
“I think healthcare is more about love
than about most other things. At the
core of this, two human beings have
agreed to be in a relationship where
one is trying to relieve the suffering
of another.”
- Don Berwick, Administrator, Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services
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For more information
•National Rural Health Resource Center
www.ruralcenter.org
•Internal Revenue Service
www.irs.gov
•National Center for Rural Health Works,
National Advisory Committee
www.ruralhealthworks.org
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Kami Norland
Community Specialist
National Rural Health Resource Center
600 East Superior Street, Suite 404
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 727-9390 ext. 223
[email protected]
www.ruralcenter.org
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