Community Benefit Program Development:
Impact on Not for Profit Hospitals

 

The importance of assessing community health needs and developing an implementation strategy to address selected needs was reinforced by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act), enacted March 23, 2010. These new Federal requirements along with many states mandate tax-exempt hospitals to conduct community needs assessments and develop community benefit plans, in varying degrees of specifications.

 

Community benefits are programs or activities that promote health and healing in response to identified community needs and meet at least one of these community benefit objectives:

• Improve access to health care services
• Enhance the health of the community
• Advance medical or health care knowledge
• Relieve or reduce the burden of government or other community efforts

 

In order to comply with Federal tax-exemption requirements in the Affordable Care Act, a tax-exempt hospital facility must:

• Conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) every three years. The assessment must take into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospital facility, including those with special knowledge of or expertise in public health.
• Adopt an implementation strategy to meet the community health needs identified through the assessment.
• Report how it is addressing the needs identified in the community health needs assessment and a description of unmet needs with the reasons why such needs are not being addressed. Key components of the CHNA should include the following:
• Plan and Prepare for the Assessment
• Determine the Purpose and Scope of the Community Health Needs Assessment
• Identify Data that Describes the Health Needs of the Community
• Understand and Interpret the Data
• Define and Validate Priorities
• Document and Communicate Results

 

KOHLER HealthCare Consulting, Inc. (KHC) has been a leader in strategic planning, feasibility studies, and business development projects for hospitals nationwide for over 30 years.

 

Since 2010, Kohler Healthcare Consulting (KHC) has assisted hospitals in all phases of Community Benefit program planning, development, implementation and Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA).

 

With the progression of health care reform at the local, state, and national levels, Kohler HealthCare Consulting understands that hospitals must clearly demonstrate their contributions and impact on improving the health of the communities they serve. The development of well-constructed and conducted comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessments enable hospitals to prepare and implement annual Community Benefit Needs Plans that strongly present their role in providing health care services and programs beyond the walls of the institution.

 

KHC welcomes the opportunity to meet with you and your executive team to discuss ways in which KHC can help you on this important initiative.

 

Contact us to help

put the pieces together

 

Office: (410) 461 − 5116

 

Charlotte Kohler: (443) 956 − 1434