Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder a Common Priority for Delaware Hospitals
All Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA), an evaluation of local health needs conducted by non-profit hospitals every three years, are now complete and available online for those Delaware hospitals required to report in 2019.* While several common health needs have been identified, mental health and/or substance use disorder has emerged as a priority for every hospital across the state.
Delaware hospitals strive to provide the highest quality care for every patient that enters their doors, but there are so many factors beyond hospital walls that impact a person’s health. To truly make an impact on the health of our community, we must identify these critical factors and work with our community partners to address these issues. Recognizing this, the three healthcare systems in Sussex county, Bayhealth, Beebe and Nanticoke, led by each hospital’s CEO, have collaborated to form the Healthier Sussex County Task Force. This Task Force works along with critical community partners, most notably the Sussex County Health Coalition (SCHC), to address needs in a comprehensive manner. The collective impact of all of the dynamic partners of SCHC, make it an ideal partner in this work.
The CHNA reports, as required by the Affordable Care Act, are the product of a significant amount of research by each non-profit hospital to assess the health needs of their surrounding communities through qualitative and quantitative data. This includes community surveys, focus groups, and an analysis of the predominant health issues impacting their local population.
Common health needs spanning several hospitals include:
- Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder
- Social Determinants of Health
- Cancer
- Access/Availability of Providers
- Obesity
The hospitals will next release their Community Health Implementation Plans, which outline how Delaware health care systems will work to address the health care priorities identified in the CHNAs in the next three years.
* Bayhealth Kent Campus, Bayhealth Sussex Campus, Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare, Nanticoke Health Services, and Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children all report in 2019. Saint Francis Healthcare’s CHNA is not due until 2020.
