Better Health Starts With You
The people in our community want safe, vibrant neighborhoods, access to fresh, healthy food, healthy mothers, children, and families, and activities and programs designed to help us live fuller, healthier lives.
Across our city, programs and organizations are working together to improve the health and well-being of our community. The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) helps us better understand where and why health outcomes differ across our community, how various health factors can influence these outcomes, and how policies and programs can help create a healthier Baton Rouge for all.
Creating a Healthier BR for All
Every three years, local hospitals are tasked with prioritizing the community's health needs as part of the Community Health Needs Assessment. Thank you for contributing to our CHNA by telling us about health in your community! Our work of creating a healthier BR for all continues! Our efforts are focused on developing comprehensive Community Health Implementation Plans for ten identified health priorities:
- Access to Healthcare Services
- Chronic Disease Management
- Infectious Diseases Prevention/Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Injury and Violence Prevention
- Health Education and Community Outreach
- Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment/Behavioral (Mental) Health
- Maternal and Child Health
- Health Equity and Racial Disparities/Social Determinants of Health
- Healthy Living/Lifestyle/Obesity/Nutrition
- Pediatric and Adolescent Health
Did You Know? Baton Rouge Helped Pioneer Collaborative CHNAs
With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, all tax-exempt hospitals are now required to complete a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Implementation Plan every three years. This document defines the community a hospital serves, what the significant health needs there are, and how the hospital is working to address those needs.
In 2012, federal regulations allowed hospitals to complete this process individually or collaboratively. The Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative brought our partner hospitals together and was one of the first communities in the country to have partner hospitals work together to create a Joint CHNA and Community Implementation Plan. While this is a huge accomplishment in itself, because all our healthcare partners work on the same priorities from the same plan, it also allows us to work together to address these significant health needs in the community.
The 2024 CHNA is currently underway! Check back soon! And to stay up-to-date on healthy happenings in BR, make sure you sign up for our newsletter down below.
Vision of Health Summit
Check out these highlights from the 2024 Vision of Health Summit event.
