Geisinger to start Community Health Needs Assessment across northeastern and central Pennsylvania
As in prior Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs), Geisinger will partner with Evangelical Community Hospital and Allied Services Integrated Health System on the assessment. Partnership among regional organizations allow for a better understanding of health needs across the communities served and encourages collaboration to address the identified needs.
“The CHNA provides us with a snapshot of key health challenges affecting our communities,” said Matt Walsh, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Geisinger. “It leverages information from a variety of reliable resources — Pennsylvania Department of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Anne E. Casey Foundation, U.S. Census, for example — and marries it with information from people in our community. It informs our strategy and helps us identify what we can do to improve our communities. Finally, the CHNA assists other organizations who can provide additional services to our area.”
The assessment will be conducted by Community Research Consulting, a woman-owned business based in Lancaster, Pa. that partners with healthcare providers, social service agencies, foundations, government entities and other community organizations to build vibrant, healthier, and sustainable communities by addressing community health, housing, socioeconomic disparities, capacity building, population health management, and other similar challenges.
Nonprofit hospital organizations are required to conduct a CHNA every three years and develop implementation strategies that address the identified health needs. These reports identify needs through data collection and analysis. The CHNA expands the hospital’s focus to include health issues impacting the greater community and promotes collaboration among local advocates, partners and hospitals.
This upcoming CHNA will be conducted throughout 2023 and will cover Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2026. The region’s current CHNA runs through Dec. 31, 2023.
About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 126 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $15 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
