Statewide health needs assessment results discussed
PRESQUE ISLE — The health needs of Aroostook County are significant, and the best way to address them is for the community to work together to find solutions. That was the conclusion reached at a forum held in Presque Isle to discuss the results of a recent statewide community health needs assessment conducted by Maine’s three largest healthcare systems.
“It is important to bring everyone together to discuss these issues,” said Sylvia Getman, president and CEO of The Aroostook Medical Center. “We had a great cross-section of representatives from hospitals, community health agencies and other organizations attend the community forum. There were some great ideas shared that should help organizations interested in community health work together on certain issues and build momentum.”
The forum included remarks from the CEOs of The Aroostook Medical Center, Cary Medical Center and Northern Maine Medical Center, as well as local physicians and others interested in community health issues. The 80 attendees also participated in breakout sessions to discuss the results of the needs assessment in greater depth.
“The breakout sessions were very productive,” added Getman. “Participants noted that although there are unmet health needs in the area, a significant issue is that people are not connected to the resources that currently exist.”
The needs assessment examined a wide range of health topics, including substance abuse rates, the prevalence of chronic diseases and how often people use hospitals. Results were compiled for the entire state, and also for each individual county.
The data shows that Aroostook County has the highest percentage of obesity among high school students in the state, the second-highest prevalence of heart disease in the state and a strong need for additional mental health resources. It also found that Aroostook County has low rates of chronic heavy drinking, use of street drugs, and abuse of prescription medications.
The needs assessment was initiated by the OneMaine Health Collaborative, which includes MaineHealth in southern Maine, EMHS in eastern and northern Maine, and MaineGeneral in central Maine. This is the first statewide needs assessment conducted by Maine’s three largest health systems. EMHS funded similar studies in eastern and northern Maine in 2001 and 2007.
The goals of the OneMaine Collaborative are to develop a statewide picture of Mainers’ health status, identify a set of priority health needs, provide recommendations on strategies that can be used by health care providers and provide access to the survey results so others can use the information.
“The latest needs assessment updates the knowledge EMHS gained from the region-wide assessments conducted in the past decade,” said Jerry Whalen, vice president of business development at EMHS. “We believe that in order to meet the health needs of our communities, we must fully understand their health status and barriers to the care they need. In fact, the Center for Health System Change published a report last spring noting that health status is the predominant predictor of health care costs. If we are going to bend the curve on health care costs, we must have clear data on health status. The assessment helps us get there.”
The results are intended to be used by hospitals, social service agencies, physicians, employers and others to dialogue about health needs and address the state’s biggest health concerns. The results can be used for grant writing, helping to guide decisions about what services to offer in the community and finding the best ways to educate the community about important health issues.
“We believe a lot of great work will result from the assessment,” noted Getman. “Hopefully it will encourage continued collaboration between hospitals, the local Healthy Maine partnerships and other health care providers. The community forum is simply the first step in the process. The next step is to use the information to improve the health of people in Aroostook County.”
EMHS members share best practices and ongoing quality initiatives to improve access to quality care at the local level.
The results of the needs assessment are available to the community by visiting http://chna.emh.org or by calling 768-4044.
