Shawnee Co. health organizations assess the community's concerns
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Health agencies across the Capital City are working together to assess the health needs of the community.
Shawnee County residents are invited to take the 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The assessment is given every three years to get a 'well-rounded' look at the health issues impacting residents. Stormont Vail Health is working with several health organizations in Shawnee County who use the confidential survey results, work together and come up a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to address the community's concerns.
“The CHNA is a crucial tool that benefits everyone in our community, not just the organizations conducting it,” said Karla Hedquist, Stormont Vail Directory of Community Engagement. “We hope this survey gives those who have historically lacked a platform to share their voice an opportunity to provide feedback so all have a chance to be heard.”
On Monday, community partners met to be some of the first to take the assessment. Hedquist told 27 News many things we may not even think of can impact our health.
"If we don't feel safe walking in our neighborhood, if the air that we breathe is not clean, if we don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and the things we know, we need to be healthy," Hedquist said. "We're asking people to take the survey not only for their own health, but for their friends and neighbors."
A town hall meeting will be May 15 to review the outcomes of the community's assessment, data analysis and the most recent County Health Rankings to determine what concerns brought forward my the community are most important. The final CHNA findings and documents should be complete by this fall, and the CHIP is expected to be completed by 2025.
This survey is open to the public until April 30. To view the survey in English, click here; to view the survey in Spanish, click here. You can also take the survey in person at Stormont Vail Health.
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