Georgia Health Sciences University, University Hospital and the East Central Health District VI have partnered to initiate a community health needs assessment, sharing a dynamic and easy-to-use tool to take the temperature of their community’s well-being.   Across America, hospitals and medical systems are partnering with businesses and citizens to address their community’s leading health issues, including obesity, infant mortality, chronic disease, violence prevention and health disparities.

Community Health Needs Assessment

A community health needs assessment improves health and facilitates access to health- and wellness-related resources by documenting the health status of community members. The process is like taking the temperature of a community’s well-being, health and fitness by examining leading causes of physical and mental illness, death and disability. Assessment tools such as surveys, interviews, community forums, observational studies and research can measure a community’s well-being by determining factors such as:

• health statistics such as leading causes of illness, death and disability
• safety statistics such as crime rates
• socio-economic indicators such as average incomes, education levels, employment rates and housing
• medical resources such as the numbers of hospitals, clinics and health care providers available
• access to recreational and physical activity resources
• environmental quality and the cleanliness or safety of land, air and water

Our CHNA Goal

To share resources and engage in local partnerships that will help reduce the burden of illness and promote behaviors to improve the health of our Augusta and CSRA communities.

Health Indicators – Community Dashboard

Area residents, students, health care and social service providers can access a dashboard of community health indicators for Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties to learn more about leading health issues and socio-economic factors in our community.