2016 Community Health Needs Assessment Q&A

What is the Community Health Needs Assessment?

The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) is a report that examines factors that impact the health and wellness of all the people in a particular geographic area. Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) provides CHNA reports for four regions:

• Lehigh Valley region (Lehigh and Northampton counties)
• Hazleton region (Luzerne County)
• Schuylkill region (Schuylkill County)
• Pocono region (Monroe County)

While LVHN serves all these regions, they are distinct geographic areas that have different health needs, as highlighted in their respective reports.

How was data for the CHNA reports collected?

Each region used a grassroots approach to ensure a broad community picture of health needs was reflected in the data.

• Lehigh Valley CHNA: Data acquisition and reporting for the Lehigh Valley area was performed by Health Care Council of the Lehigh Valley, a collaborative that includes LVHN, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, KidsPeace, St. Luke's University Health Network, Sacred Heart Healthcare System (now part of St. Luke's), Allentown Health Bureau, Bethlehem Health Bureau and Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley. The Health Care Council's work was supported by funding from the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust and facilitated by 35th Street Consulting.
• Hazleton CHNA: Data acquisition and reporting for the Hazleton area was facilitated by 35th Street Consulting with community input from Hazleton Integration Project (HIP) and Communities that Care (CTC).
• Pocono CHNA: Data acquisition and reporting for the Pocono CHNA was facilitated by a Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono Steering Committee and East Stroudsburg University's Institute of Public Health, Research and Innovation.
• Schuylkill CHNA: Data acquisition and reporting for the Schuylkill CHNA was facilitated by a steering committee comprised of Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill representatives as well as community members. 

Why was a CHNA performed?

The Affordable Care Act requires tax-exempt hospitals to conduct a CHNA every three years in collaboration with community stakeholders. Furthermore, the CHNA is important because it describes the current state of health in our region and identifies potential areas in which LVHN and other organizations in the community can take steps to improve the health of our population.

What information does the CHNA report contain?

The information in the report includes:

• Statistics from local, state and national sources about disease, the environment, social factors and individual behaviors that impact health and wellness
• Qualitative data describing residents' experiences, as gathered through focus groups 

The following are required elements of the CHNA (using primary and secondary data sources):

• Demographic assessment of the community the hospital serves
• Residents' perceptions about current issues impacting their health
• Analysis of actual health care issues
• Assessment of current efforts to address health care issues
• Development of a three-year action plan that demonstrates the hospital and community coming together to address identified issues

Here is how the 2016 CHNA report is different from the previous report in 2012:

• Health systems may build upon their prior CHNA.
• Input from persons representing the broad interests of the community – including public health department representative, the medically underserved, low income and minority populations – must be solicited and considered.
• The definition of "needs" was expanded to include financial, illness prevention, nutrition, social, behavioral and environmental factors.
• The implementation plan must be posted by Nov. 15, 2016 and include an evaluation of the impact of any actions taken to address significant health needs since the last CHNA.