The findings from a hospital’s community health needs assessment (CHNA) shouldn't just sit on a shelf, in a filing cabinet, or on a website.
They’re the key ingredient for the preparation of a community health implementation plan — a blueprint for how a hospital and its community partners propose to address the health needs and priorities documented in the CHNA. The implementation plan lays out the specific health concerns that will be addressed, how they’ll be addressed (interventions and activities), and a strategy for evaluating how well they were addressed.
And for your community health implementation plan to be effective and impactful, its planning should include a variety of voices. Engaging a range of stakeholders, leaders, and people with lived experience who have peers or a constituency that can influence key changes to the physical, social, environmental, and policy environments is critical.
RHI did a very thorough job conducting our CHNA. Their expertise allowed us to get valuable feedback from our community, and they provided guidance as we put together action plans to create change. The check-in calls after planning ensured accountability.
Rochelle Community Hospital, Rochelle, Illinois
Rural Health Innovations has more than 30 years of experience working with rural communities, rural networks, health care organizations, and community partners to design and carry out implementation plans. Our team can provide the support needed — education and training, the facilitation of planning events, evaluation services, and sharing of resources — to help your organization navigate the challenges of developing a plan and building and maintaining the partnerships necessary to ensure sustainability.
