Results from the 2018 Community Health Assessment Released
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South Lake Tahoe, CA) - Barton Health has announced the results of the
2018 Community Health Needs Assessment, a comprehensive follow-up to similar studies completed in 2012 and 2015.
The Community Health Needs Assessment identifies the key health issues facing the Barton Health service area. It uses a systematic, data-driven process to determine the health status, concerns, and needs of residents in the South Tahoe community.
“The Community Health Needs Assessment provides valuable insight about the well-being of our community,” says Dr. Clint Purvance, the CEO and President of Barton Health. “Our medical leaders and community partners use the results to make informed decisions and guide efforts to improve community health and wellness.”
The top priority issues in the 2018 assessment include mental health and mental disorders, substance abuse, and access to healthcare services. These are similar priorities found in previous assessments and common assessment results in rural areas. Since the inaugural Community Health Needs Assessment in 2012, Barton Health and community partners have taken multiple actions to address these issues and have seen progress. The South Tahoe Community Health Advisory Committee, the community group that determines the prioritization and creates the action plan, decided to keep prioritizing these three health issues to build on that progress and continue to support community members facing these difficult issues.
Other key health issues identified by the survey that Barton Health will focus on addressing include infant health and family planning; nutrition, physical activity, and weight; immunization and infectious disease; heart disease and stroke; injury and violence; cancer; tobacco use; and potentially disabling conditions.
The assessment is conducted every three years. New this round, the assessment broke down the results by census area. Separate census areas include the City of South Lake Tahoe, Stateline/Bijou, areas outside the City’s limits with the zip code 96150, and the remaining pockets of the primary service area (including Zephyr Cove, Glenbrook, Tahoma, and Twin Bridges).
“We know that the neighborhoods in our area have different health needs and concerns,” says Dr. Purvance. “The assessment helps us commit the right resources in a more targeted manner, reduce health disparities, and have the greatest impact on the people in our community.”
The 2018 Community Health Needs Assessment results and action plan as well as previous assessments are available at
bartonhealth.org/communityhealth.
The Community Health Needs Assessment is sponsored by Barton Health and Barton Memorial Hospital. The 2018 assessment was conducted by Professional Research Consultants, Inc. (PRC), a third party healthcare consulting firm, for respondent anonymity and to avoid bias. PRC gathered information about Barton Health’s service area from a random sampling of phone interviews, key provider surveys, vital statistics, and other existing health-related data. The results were then reviewed by South Tahoe’s Community Health Advisory Committee who determined the prioritization of the health needs based on magnitude, impact and seriousness, feasibility to address, and consequences for inaction.