CHNA requirements notice #2: CHNA must address at least two health priorities identified in the State Health Improvement Plan

By December 2020, local health departments and Ohio tax-exempt hospitals should align their Community Health Assessment (CHA)/Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and their Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)/Implementation Strategy (IS) by selecting at least two health need priorities identified in the State Health Assessment (SHA)/State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). This means that the significant health needs of the community chosen and prioritized in the hospital’s CHNA report and addressed in the IS should include at least two of the SHA/SHIP health need priorities. The state’s analysis has shown that the SHA/SHIP selected priority areas are in the top ten priorities of the local CHIP, so alignment with these health priorities is not expected to be a constraint or limiting.

Most hospitals will conduct the next CHNA in 2019. In order to meet the December 2020 deadline, the 2019 CHNA and IS must address this requirement. To begin, make sure that your CHNA process includes a review of SHA/SHIP priorities. Choose and prioritize at least two of the SHA/SHIP health need priorities as significant health needs of your community and address all chosen SHA/SHIP health need priorities in your implementation strategy. In addition, the CHNA must address any other significant health needs of the community identified during the CHNA process.