CHNA: Local Health Systems to Focus on Transportation to Care in Rural Warrick County

WNIN | By Tim Jagielo

Published August 18, 2022 at 4:50 PM CDT

Dr. James Porter is president of the Physicians Division at Deaconess Health System. He spoke during the CHNA 2022 release press conference on Wednesday. He said the pandemic hindered their efforts to attack problems set out to via the 2019 report. "It's impacted mental health globally," he said. "It's had an impact on people's access to food and other services at times, and has certainly had an impact on substance misuse disorder." Still, progress was made in some areas.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment findings also focusing on substance abuse, mental health and maternal care

The inaugural Community Health Needs Assessment was issued in 2016 as a requirement of the Affordable Care Act.

The 2022 report was just released, outlining local health system priorities for the next three years.

These include mental health, substance abuse, food Insecurity and access to care. Focus is on Warrick and Vanderburgh Counties.

These assessments are issued every three years and the findings inform local health systems and county health departments what the community needs.

Dr. James Porter is president of the Physicians Division at Deaconess Health System. He said while some priorities are new, some like mental health and obesity, are consistent.

“It just highlights the fact that they aren't things that they're easy fixes. They're things that we have to continually focus on as a health care community, and partner with other organizations to be able to find new ways to address them.”

A new area of focus for 2022 to 2025 is transportation to healthcare — specifically in rural Warrick County.

“We do know that people who live in more rural areas, especially in particularly in the older population, sometimes are challenged to find transportation to health care,” Porter said. “And so it's helpful for us to know that that's a priority that we should work on.”

In this effort , Deaconess partners with ECHO Community Health Care, St. Vincent Evansville, United Way of Southwest Indiana, Vanderburgh County Health Department and Welborn Baptist Foundation.

Findings from the Community Health Needs Assessment are released every three years. These ‘assess’ everything from mental health maternity and childcare.

While COVID put a damper on making progress in improving community health, gains have been made in areas of reducing infant mortality and improving maternal care.

A CHNA has been released for each nearby county, some with slightly different local needs identified. Vanderburgh County local needs include COVID-19 Response, Behavioral Health, Access to Care, Maternal Child Health, Exercise, Weight and Nutrition.

A summary of the findings were shared at a news conference this week at the Evansville Vanderburgh Central Library.

To read over the detailed reports, go to deadoness.com/chna.