Release Date: 12/15/2015

As a member of EMHS, Inland Hospital is proud to have participated in a Community Forum on December 10th that focused on improving the health of the communities we serve outside the walls of our hospital.
               
More than 50 people attended a Community Forum in Waterville to learn the results of the latest Shared Community Health Needs Assessment (Shared CHNA) survey, which includes qualitative and quantitative data.  This marks the first time a shared health assessment has been conducted together by the Maine CDC and all Maine healthcare systems which include EMHS, Maine Health, CMMC and MaineGeneral.  
 
Attendees represented hospitals, public and local healthcare organizations, schools, social services, local and state government from across Kennebec and Somerset Counties.
 
Local priority health issues identified in the survey were obesity and substance abuse.  Break-out discussions helped to identify ways to measure success, gaps around the issues, and how hospitals and other local organizations could take a lead and collaborate.  The group also considered other top health issues based on the data and their own experiences.  Identified concerns included mental health services, access to care and related costs, challenges for rural and aging populations, domestic violence, and underlying factors such as poverty.
 
Waterville’s Community Forum helped inform and engage stakeholders to help turn the data into action, and initiate community health improvement initiatives and partnerships.  View the Shared CHNA report here and contact ewells@emhs.org if you would like to get involved or learn more.
 
http://www.emhs.org/Community-Benefit/CHNA.aspx