Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital compiling next community needs assessment

ALBANY — Nonprofit organizations have the purpose of benefiting the broad interest of the public, and in exchange they get tax-exempt donations, federal tax exemptions, state and local tax exemptions, and tax-free bonds.

In order to ensure the continued community benefit aspect, nonprofit hospitals, including Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, are expected — at regular intervals — to undergo community health needs assessments and establish an implementation plan from the assessment’s findings.

That was the topic of a meeting last week of the hospital’s community benefit committee, which is in the final stages of completing an updated assessment.

“A community health needs assessment is a systematic process involving the community, to identify and analyze community health needs and assets in order to prioritize, plan and act upon unmet community needs,” a presentation by Lori Jenkins, director of strategy and planning for the hospital, noted. “An implementation strategy is the health care organization’s plan for addressing prioritized health needs and problems identified in the community health needs assessment.

“The implementation strategy may also be called the organization’s community benefit plan.”

Community benefits are defined as programs or activities providing treatment and/or promoting resources as a response to community need. They are guided by four principles:

— Improvement of access to health care services;

— Enhancement of health in the community;

— Advancement of medical or health knowledge;

— Relief or reduction of the burden of government or other community efforts.

The priorities outlined in the current community needs assessment, which was pulled together in 2016 and expires this year, are improved maternal, infant and child health, and reproductive responsibility; promotion, advocacy and facilitation of a sustainable community mental health continuum of care model with an emphasis on addressing identified gaps in service, and promotion of healthy living lifestyles that reduce obesity and related acute and chronic diseases.

Low birth weight was considered an important aspect of the 2016 assessment of infant and child health due to the poorer outcomes that commonly occur later in life, such as chronic diseases and cognitive development, as well as associated increased health care costs.

The rates of drug overdoses and diabetes were also researched as part of the current assessment.

For the assessment now under development, the process of identifying and collecting data was started in August. From October through December, the data were interpreted. The committee has now started the process of defining and validating priorities, which it is expected to do through May.

The assessments for the Phoebe Putney Health System hospitals are expected to be complete this summer in time to be presented to the boards for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Phoebe Sumter Medical Center and Phoebe Worth Medical Center in June. The next step will be board votes, likely to take place by July.

If approved by the boards, the incoming assessments and its implementation plans will be adopted and remain in effect until 2022.

To view the current assessments, visit http://www.phoebehealth.com/health-matters/building-healthy-communities.

Jennifer Parks