NE Atlanta News

Piedmont hospitals have completed their respective Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs), which is part of their regulatory responsibility as part of a not-for-profit health system, and will begin implementation on Nov. 15 of new strategies to improve the overall health of the communities they serve.

Piedmont’s Community Benefit team performed interviews throughout Georgia with more than 200 stakeholders, who provided insight into the particular health needs in their respective communities.

“Piedmont exists to serve its communities and the Community Health Needs Assessment helps us to see the areas in which our resources can make a positive difference in the lives of community members who are most in need,” said Piedmont Vice President of External Affairs Thomas Worthy. “Piedmont empowers Georgians by helping them to reach their full potential and by being more responsive to the needs of our communities we are helping the citizens of Georgia to live healthier, fuller lives.”

Among the priorities that Piedmont’s local boards have ratified as priorities are:

• Ensure affordable access to health, mental and dental care
• Promote healthy behaviors to reduce preventable chronic conditions and diseases

“Piedmont Eastside is proud of our long history of serving Gwinnett County and the surrounding communities, and this needs assessment and implementation plan are a great roadmap for our future impact,” said Trent Lind, Piedmont Eastside’s Chief Executive Officer. “We appreciate the involvement of our board in the development and approval of this plan, and their support for its implementation.  The future is bright at Piedmont Eastside for all the ways in which we make positive differences in the lives that we touch,” he said.

A CHNA is a measurement of the relative health or well-being of a given community. It's both the activity and the end-product of identifying and prioritizing unmet community health needs, which is performed by:

• Gathering and analyzing data;
• Soliciting the feedback of the community and key stakeholders; and,
• Evaluating Piedmont’s past work and future opportunities.

Through this assessment, Piedmont is better informed to understand local health challenges, identify health trends in our communities, determine gaps in the current health delivery system and craft a plan to address those gaps and the identified health needs.

This is Piedmont Eastside’s very first CHNA, but the fourth Piedmont CHNA, with the others having been conducted in 2013, 2016 and 2019. The current Piedmont CHNA will serve as a foundation for developing our community benefit strategies and further strengthening our community work.

Original source can be found here.