Geisinger Shares Plans for Community Health Improvement at Recent Breakfast
Lissa Bryan-Smith, chief administrative officer at Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital and Chamber board member, talks about Geisinger’s community health improvement plan and recent Community Health Needs Assessment at a recent breakfast at the Pine Barn Inn.
Geisinger’s CHNA reports and implementation plans
Officials from Geisinger presented the findings from its most recent Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and its goals and objectives for improving community health over the next three years at a recent breakfast at the Pine Barn Inn, which was organized by the Columbia Montour Chamber and Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber.
The CHNA found that in Geisinger’s Central Region, which is made up of Columbia and Montour Counties, as well as Union, Snyder, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Lycoming, Sullivan and Clinton Counties, there were higher rates of uninsured individuals, lower primary care provider rates, lower access to specialty providers, and barriers to transportation for those rural populations. Additionally, there were higher rates of mental disorders in select counties, as well as lower mental health provider rates. In all regions, there continues to be a higher rate of deaths due to the opioid epidemic.
A community health improvement plan includes a three-prong strategy for addressing these issues include the areas of access to care, behavioral healthcare and chronic disease prevention and management. Each area has a stated goal, which includes:
Access to care
Goal: Ensure residents have access to quality, comprehensive healthcare close to home
Behavioral healthcare
Goal: Model best practices to address community behavioral healthcare needs and promote collaboration among organizations to meet the health and social needs of residents
Chronic disease prevention and management
Goal: Reduce risk factors and premature death attributed to chronic diseases
Each goal also includes several regional objectives.
The entire presentation can be viewed at the link above.