Baltimore's hospitals and the city health department are working together over the next two weeks to ask city residents to detail their most urgent health needs through an online survey, including how they have fared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hospitals are gathering the information through Oct. 9 to update health programs they have been tailoring to area communities since the surveys were initiated in 2013 by the Affordable Care Act.
But hospitals need more residents to participate in the survey to get a complete picture. Because of the pandemic, hospital representatives cannot go door-to-
Community Health Needs Assessment Survey
door to directly distribute the surveys- a process that helped supplement the last online survey in 2018.
For the second time, all hospitals in the city - including Johns Hopkins Medicine - are combining efforts to collect the broadest array of feedback for their individual Community Health Needs Assessment plans and implementation strategies.
The 14-question, anonymous survey includes questions related to the physical, social and economic factors that impact health. It also asks about COVID-19's impact.
Once the surveys are completed, hospitals will use the feedback from their respective zip codes to gain an updated understanding of community health needs and adjust their programs and services accordingly.
Details on past assessments and results are available to the public at each hospital's website:
- Johns Hopkins Medicine
- University of Maryland Medical System
- Lifebridge Health
- Ascension St. Agnes
- MedStar Health
- Mercy Medical Center
Johns Hopkins has scheduled six focus groups to assist in gathering a broad range of needs. They include sessions with homeless residents, justice-system involved individuals and those suffering from substance use disorders. In addition, two sessions will be tailored specifically to Spanish-speaking residents in and around Baltimore.
To complete the survey online, visit this website
