Iowa Critical Access Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment + Action Planning Education: Implementing Your Plan

The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) is a vital tool to aid in identifying priority health needs and aligning partners and resources to address community needs. Continuous evaluation and improvement are essential components when implementing an organization’s CHNA strategic plan to improve community health. Applying Lean methodology can support this process and lead to improvements in performance measure tracking and resource utilization. This will save time and allow focused attention on value-add activities that directly impact community health goals. As population health improvements are recognized, a collaborative, transparent communication strategy can heighten awareness increasing both hospital staff and community engagement.