Paper on Community Health Needs Assessment & Strategic Implementation Plan - Chicago

Introduction

The Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) is a systematic and data-driven strategy to determine the health care needs and services, health status, and behaviors of the residents for the University of Chicago Medical Center in line with the federal healthcare quality benchmark. The health care report provides summarized data and approaches needed to identify Chicago’s community health care needs and priorities to aid in resource commitment and allocation, which can most effectively improve the health and overall wellness of the community (Uchicago Medicine, 2019). The annual report is a requirement by the Affordable Care Act to enable local, state, and federal health care agencies to assess the needs and identify priority concerns to aid in decision-making, resource allocation, and effective management to address the issues. Particular concern has been focused on the vulnerable patient populations, specifically those in the low-income bracket, the homeless, elderly, those with various physical and mental challenges, and people of color (Uchicago Medicine, 2019).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The current health care priorities are focused on three primary goals: 1) prevention and management of chronic illnesses – asthma and diabetes; 2) build trauma resiliency – mental health and violent recovery; and 3) reduce the inequalities resulting from social determinants of health – employment, food security and access to care. (Uchicago Medicine, 2019). However, there is a growing concern from the long history of unfair policies and practices that have burdened the people of color. The high levels of insecurity, low economic activities compared to other states, and inadequate access to vital health care services have made a challenge to successfully implement strategies to improve the health status and wellness of the community. For instance, the low rates in educations resulting from critical determinants such as poverty, underemployment, and unemployment, have made it a severe challenge to afford health care services. Besides, the rates of self-reported poor health, chronic diseases, and infant mortality have increased.

Economic inequalities have made a challenge to address the health concerns for vulnerable patient populations effectively. The high levels of disproportionate poverty and unemployment have established barriers to accessing health services and resources to maintain high-quality health. Besides, the lack of resources has made it a challenge to implement developed programs, policies in a more practical approach because they require strategies that are either expensive or lack adequate and qualified players to manage them, the greatest hindrance being education (Uchicago Medicine, 2019).

What is needed is a more comfortable and more affordable way to access health care services. Affordable health care services are all everyone’s constitutional rights under the Affordable Care Act. Access to health care services will require: 1) gaining access to health care systems – such as Medicare; 2) more health care facilities to be within locations accessible by the population, and 3) deploy health care providers whom patients trust and can communicate with.

Secondly, community health education programs will significantly educate the community on the importance of living a healthy life. The overall wellness of the community strongly depends on their knowledge to utilize the available resource to improve their health. This outcome will not be possible if the community does not have the knowledge (Chicago.gov, 2020). Thus, implementing a community-based health education program is a vital resource that needs to improve the health status of the Chicago community.

Thirdly, implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA)- the legal law that protects patients from exploitation and assures affordability and readily accessible health care services. The county health department implements different standard plans gives guidance to acquiring alternative financial aid besides the Medicaid and Medicare for both private and public treatmen (HealthCare.gov, n.d.).

Inclusion, the current CHNA from the county health department is in line with health care needs and services, health status, and behaviors of the residents for the University of Chicago Medical Center in line with the federal healthcare quality benchmark. The current health care priorities are focused on three primary goals: 1) prevention and management of chronic illnesses; 2) build trauma resiliency; and 3) reduce the inequalities resulting from social determinants of health – employment, food security, and access to care.

References

Center for Disease control and prevention. (2017). Leading Causes of Death. Center for Disease control and prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

Chicago.gov. (2020, May 11). Health Protection and Response. Chicago.gov: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/provdrs/health_protection_and_response.html

HealthCare.gov. (n.d.). Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. HealthCare.gov.: https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/

Uchicago Medicine. (2019). Community Health Needs Assessment 2018-2019. Maryland: The University of Chicago Medicine: https://issuu.com/communitybenefit-ucm/docs/ucm-2019-chna