HSHS St. Francis Hospital, Montgomery County Health Department and Macoupin County Public Health Department are asking residents of Montgomery and Macoupin counties to complete a short survey about health issues in their communities. The brief survey will be used to guide community health efforts for the next three years. 

  

“Our organizations share a common goal of providing resources to the communities and individuals we serve,” said Alex Schneider, HSHS community health outreach specialist. "We look forward to hearing directly from our community so we can work in partnership with them to address identified needs.”  

  

Residents of Montgomery or Macoupin counties can take the survey at (surveymonkey.com/r/5WJJKXL) through April 5. Hard copies will be available at the Montgomery County Health Department and the Macoupin County Health Department. Responses are anonymous. 

  

Non-profit hospitals like St. Francis are required by the Affordable Care Act to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) every three years to identify specific health priorities within the county where those hospitals are located. Hospitals work with other local health care organizations and health departments to collect this data and use it to develop a Community Health Implementation Plan to address the selected priorities. 

  

Following the survey and other information gathering, the hospital and health departments will determine which health priorities they should address over the next three years and how to implement those priorities. The completed CHNA report with identified health priorities will be available by the end of June 2024. 

  

Six other hospitals in Hospital Sisters Health System are also conducting health needs assessments at this time. They are HSHS St. John’s Hospital for Sangamon County, HSHS St. Mary's Hospital for Macon County, HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital for Effingham and Jasper counties, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese for Clinton County, HSHS Holy Family Hospital for Bond County, and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland for Madison County.