Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)
Per the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, tax-exempt hospitals are required to assess community health needs, develop strategies to address those needs and to participate in public forums regarding community health needs. Maine Behavioral Healthcare participates in these valuable public forums and other strategies to gather public feedback about programs and services offered in the community.
These assessments create an important opportunity to improve the health of communities, ensuring that hospitals provide benefits that meet the needs of their communities. They also provide an opportunity to better coordinate efforts with other community health strategies. By statute, the CHNAs must take into account input from “persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospital facility, including those with special knowledge of or expertise in public health.”