[ November 22, 2022 ] Piedmont hospitals, including Piedmont Mountainside, have completed their respective Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs), which is part of their regulatory responsibility as part of a not-for-profit health system, and began implementation on Nov. 15 of new strategies to improve the overall health of the communities they serve.

Piedmont?s Community Benefit team performed interviews throughout Georgia with more than 200 stakeholders, who provided insight into the particular health needs in their respective communities.

?Piedmont exists to serve its communities and the Community Health Needs Assessment helps us to see the areas in which our resources can make a positive difference in the lives of community members who are most in need,? said Piedmont Vice President of External Affairs Thomas Worthy. ?Piedmont empowers Georgians by helping them to reach their full potential and by being more responsive to the needs of our communities we are helping the citizens of Georgia to live healthier, fuller lives.?

Among the priorities that Piedmont Mountainside?s board of directors have ratified are:
? Ensure access to affordable and appropriate health and dental care
We will work to ensure that all community members have access to affordable health, mental and dental care, regardless of income. This includes partnerships with community-based organizations, as well as internal programming to increase access to services.
? Promote healthy behaviors to reduce preventable instances of chronic conditions
We will actively promote healthy behaviors and encourage community members to stop risky behaviors, such as smoking. This includes widespread health education and programming.
? Promote mental well-being

We will work with the community to decrease substance abuse and addiction, as well as promote mental wellbeing for all community members, with a particular focus on children and youth.

?As a member of the Pickens/Gilmer counties area for 18 years, Piedmont Mountainside?s goal is to protect the health of our community members, whether or not they visit us inside the walls of our hospital,? said Piedmont Mountainside CEO Denise Ray. ?We will engage with the community to promote early prevention, detection, treatment and risk-reduction in these key areas with the goal of improving our community?s overall health.?

A CHNA is a measurement of the relative health or well-being of a given community. It's both the activity and the end-product of identifying and prioritizing unmet community health needs, which is performed by:

? Gathering and analyzing data;
? Soliciting the feedback of the community and key stakeholders; and,
? Evaluating Piedmont?s past work and future opportunities.

Through this assessment, Piedmont is better informed to understand local health challenges, identify health trends in our communities, determine gaps in the current health delivery system and craft a plan to address those gaps and the identified health needs.

This is the fourth Piedmont CHNA, with the others having been conducted in 2013, 2016 and 2019. The current Piedmont CHNA will serve as a foundation for developing our community benefit strategies and further strengthening our community work.