Athens Reporter

Piedmont hospitals, including Piedmont Macon Medical Center and Piedmont Macon North Hospital, have completed their respective Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs), which are part of their regulatory responsibility as part of a not-for-profit health system. On Nov. 15, Piedmont’s hospitals will begin implementing 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.”

The priorities that Piedmont Macon’s board of directors ratified are:

• Ensure affordable access to health, mental, and dental care

We will work to ensure that all community members have access to affordable health, mental and dental care, regardless of income. This includes partnerships with community-based organizations, as well as internal programming to increase access to services

• Reduce preventable instances of and death from cancer

We will promote both the prevention and treatment of all cancers, especially among those most vulnerable to the disease. This includes community-based screenings and the promotion of programming meant to support community members with cancer and their families.

• Promote healthy behaviors to reduce preventable chronic conditions and diseases

We will actively promote healthy behaviors and encourage community members to stop risky behaviors, such as smoking, as well as put forth efforts to curb obesity and STDs. This includes widespread health education and programming.

• Reduce preventable instances and death from heart disease

We will promote both the prevention and treatment of heart disease and will emphasize early detection and healthy behaviors to help reduce risk. We will pay particular attention to populations most at risk for heart disease.

“Like many places in the state, the healthcare needs of the residents of Macon and Middle Georgia are diverse and wide-ranging,” said Stephen J. Daugherty, CEO of Piedmont Macon and Macon North. “This process has given us the opportunity to look at the community’s needs and decide how to best engage with community partners on the most pressing issues. Our primary goal is to improve the overall health and well-being of Macon and surrounding areas.”

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 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.