Project Description Narrative:
Community health assessments are an important precursor to developing a community health improvement plan aimed at improving the health status of a community. Wisconsin requires local public health departments to conduct a comprehensive community health assessment in their jurisdiction and use that information to develop a community health improvement plan in partnership with community stakeholders. With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, not-for-profit hospitals are also now required to conduct periodic community health assessments and community health improvement plans. However, independent action by government health agencies and not-for-profit hospitals to comply with these requirements can lead to costly duplication of efforts, potentially conflicting priorities, and uncoordinated community action. In addition, all entities face the challenge of moving from the identification of health problems to true action to improve health.
This project will test an innovative method — a web-based data portal — to not just serve as a static resource, but as a tool to move community health assessment to real individual, community, and system interventions that impact population health status.
Community partners: Eau Claire City-County Health Department, Marshfield Clinic – Eau Claire Center, Mayo Clinic Health System, Sacred Heart Hospital, United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley
Additional MCW academic partners: David Nelson, PhD, Family and Community Medicine; Amy Kistner, MS, Family and Community Medicine; Elaine Drew, PhD, Family and Community Medicine