August 15th, 2022 by WCBC Radio
UPMC’s ongoing commitment to understand and improve the health of its communities is reflected in its recently published 2022 Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) and Implementation Plans.
Across all the regions UPMC serves, four significant health needs were identified:
- Behavioral health
- Chronic disease management
- Access to care and navigating resources
- Prevention and community-wide healthy living
“Information from the CHNAs allows us to prioritize programs and services, because through this process, we can better understand the needs of our communities and develop a roadmap to direct resources where services are most needed and where our impact would be most beneficial. Ultimately, our goal is simply to improve the community’s health,” said Mark Sevco, President, UPMC Hospitals.
UPMC partnered with experts from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health to conduct the CHNAs. They combined public health data analysis, examination of socioeconomic factors, and a structured community input survey process that solicited feedback from nearly 3,000 community stakeholders, including individuals and organizations that represent patient constituencies such as medically underserved, low-income, and minority populations.
“It is essential that we all continue to work together to ensure that health improvement efforts and resources are effective and aligned with the most pressing needs,” Sevco said.
Through this rigorous assessment process, UPMC identified significant health needs, prioritized them, established action plans, and identified resources to address those needs. The 2022 reports build on prior assessments and implementation plans developed in 2013, 2016, and 2019.
With hospitals across Pennsylvania, New York, and Western Maryland, UPMC used a regional hub approach to develop the 2022 CHNAs — allowing local communities to set priorities, while supporting a coordinated community health strategy across the UPMC network. UPMC’s CHNA regions are:
Allegheny County
Central Pennsylvania
Northwest Pennsylvania and New York
West Central Pennsylvania and Maryland
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