Lincoln County Health Department and Mercy Hospital Lincoln release 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment
Lincoln County Health Department (LCHD) and Mercy Hospital Lincoln (MHL) announce the release of the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment for Lincoln County. The report highlights the top health needs of the county and offers a snapshot of the current health status of residents. Many sources of data, including community input, were used in compiling the report.
This year, LCHD and MHL worked together to complete a joint health needs assessment. “Assessment of the community’s health is a core function of public health and a federal requirement for many hospitals, and is important in highlighting areas of need and developing strategies to improve the wellbeing of Lincoln County residents,” says Brett Siefert, Administrator of Lincoln County Health Department. “We appreciate our partnership with the Lincoln County Health Department,” says Tony Rothermich, Mercy Hospital Lincoln Administrator. “In collaboration, we are able to obtain meaningful data to assist in developing strategies to make health care better for the community.”
Based on this assessment, LCHD and MHL have each identified priority health areas that they will focus on over the next three years. Top needs identified for the county include access to care, substance use, mental and behavioral health, chronic disease, and injuries. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in Lincoln County, at a significantly higher rate than the state overall. Areas where the county has shown improvement include rates of individuals without health insurance and unemployment.
The next step is the development of a Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, which will guide the activities of each organization in addressing these priority health areas. Each agency will develop its own CHIP, but will address some priority areas in partnership or in support of each other.
The health department will be launching a series of mini-reports from the assessment over the next few weeks. Copies of the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment report can be found on each agency’s website, https://lchdmo.org and https://mercy.net/lincoln
Please call the Lincoln County Health Department for more information at 636-528-6117.