Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast. Implementation Strategy For Summary

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1 Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast Implementation Strategy For Summary Founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1915, Sacred Heart Health System (Sacred Heart) is committed to providing quality health care to all persons, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. As a Catholic health ministry, Sacred Heart s mission guides us to foster spiritually-centered, holistic care that sustains and improves the health of individuals and communities we serve. Today, Sacred Heart carries out its mission through three acute care hospitals. Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast ( SHHEC ) is a 58-bed acute care facility located in Miramar Beach, Walton County. SHHEC opened in 2003 and is the only hospital in South Walton County. Walton County residents comprise 45% of SHHEC s hospital discharges, with the remaining discharges coming from adjacent coastal zip codes in Okaloosa and Bay Counties and from out of area tourists. SHHEC is one of two acute care hospitals located in Walton County, but is the only nonprofit hospital for more than 50 miles in any direction. This report summarizes the plans for SHHEC to sustain and develop new community benefit programs that address prioritized needs from the 2013 community health needs assessment ( CHNA ) study conducted in collaboration with the Walton County Health Improvement Partnership and the Florida Department of Health-Walton County. Target Areas and Populations Walton County is a statutory rural county, with low population density, no transportation system, a high uninsured rate and percent of families living in poverty, and fewer community assets that target health care needs. Poor health status indicators were pervasive across the entire community. Therefore, SHHEC s Implementation Strategy focuses on efforts that benefit the community at large, with several initiatives specifically targeting persons who are low income (under 200% of the federal poverty level) and uninsured. Development of the Implementation Strategy SHHEC provides support for community benefit activities in the communities it serves through its Mission Integration Department, as well as efforts developed and supported by the other 1

2 departments. The CHNA process was led by a community collaborative, with extensive participation from senior leadership from Sacred Heart s Strategic Planning and Mission Departments, and hospital operational managers and staff. The CHNA process involved an evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data and information, input from the public through forums and surveys, and expert advice from public health experts. In Walton County, priorities included increasing awareness of available community resources, linking people to needed services through information sharing and care coordination processes, and increasing access to care, particularly primary care. A major theme that emerged from the CHNA process is the relationship between the health and economic well-being of the community. Poor health status affects productivity, absenteeism, workforce preparedness, and quality of life; all essential components in attracting economic development. Major Needs and How Priorities Were Established CHNA Methodology: The CHNA was developed using the Mobilization for Action through Planning and Partnership (MAPP) method, which was developed by the National Association of City and County Health Officials in concert with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The MAPP process has four elements: Community Health Status Profile Local Public Health System Assessment Community Themes and Strengths Assessment Forces of Change Assessment Each of these elements provided a platform for assessing multiple factors from lifestyle behaviors (e.g., diet and exercise) to clinical care (e.g., access to health care services) to social and economic factors (e.g., employment opportunities) to the physical environment. Florida Department of Health Walton County staff collected and aggregated quantitative and qualitative data in support of the four MAPP elements. The key findings from each of the four components of the MAPP process were used to identify the strategic issues for addressing community health needs. A fifth assessment was also completed regarding the Walton County public health service delivery system in relation to environmental health. A Walton County Health Summit was conducted at the conclusion of the five assessments. Approximately 40 community partners engaged in a strategic planning process to identify and prioritize public health and medical issues in Walton County. Participants divided into five workgroups to review data and to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Walton County from each data source. The workgroups then developed a list of the most important issues facing the community and listed opportunities that currently exist to improve the health of the community based on their knowledge, awareness, and perceptions. Participants then organized into smaller groups of two to three persons to phrase each opportunity as a question and discuss why the opportunity is an issue, the consequences of not addressing the issue, and whether community partners could make an impact if this opportunity were chosen as a priority. The smaller groups reported out their results to the entire group, and 2

3 then participants used a hybrid multi-voting/nominal group technique to identify the top health issues. Priorities: 1. Improve Healthy Behaviors 2. Increase Usage of Preventive, Screening, and Primary Care Services 3. Improve Awareness of Resources Description of What Sacred Heart Will Do to Address Community Needs SHHEC and its partners have adopted a public health framework for improving community health. Rather than focusing on changing the individual behavior of one person at a time through programs and services, the community collaborative intends to influence public and organizational policies, improve organizational and inter-organizational systems of operation, and enhance the physical environment. This approach will facilitate a population-level impact to improve the public s health. SHHEC intends to develop, support, and implement policy and system interventions. Policy interventions, such as law, resolution, mandate, or rule, greatly influence the daily decisions we make about our health. Systems interventions are changes that impact all elements of an organization, institution, or system. Systems and policy change often work hand-in-hand. SHHEC s Implementation Strategy has three focal areas, and there are one policy and three system goals. Community health improvement goals are specifically delineated in Sacred Heart s annual integrated strategic, operational, and financial plan. These goals reflect health system commitments to community benefit which impact the communities served by Sacred Heart, as well as specific initiatives identified in the SHHEC s operational plan. All initiatives are supported from a human and capital resource perspective through the hospital and system budgeting process. The community benefit team the members of which include Mission Integration, Strategic Planning, Finance, and Communications Departments - will review community benefit activities to ensure alignment with the identified community health priorities and allocate human and capital resources necessary to address the objectives set forth below. 3

4 Action Plans Improve Healthy Behaviors Policy Goal: Reduce community tobacco use. SHHEC Objective: Adopt tobacco free hire policy to reduce tobacco use by associates. SHHEC Objective: Reinforce tobacco free campus policy for patients and visitors through communications, signage, and information about tobacco free interventions. SHHEC Objective: Implement tactics that provide tobacco free supportive resources for Sacred Heart associates and their dependents through health plan benefit design. SHHEC Objective: Increase tobacco cessation program capacity and resources in the community in collaboration with West Florida Area Health Education Center. Improve Awareness of Community Resources System Goal: Utilize 211 for community information and referral. SHHEC Objective: Support Panhandle 211 start-up in Walton County. Improve Access to Care System Goal: Link community residents and Sacred Heart patients to needed services. SHHEC Objective: Revise Sacred Heart Parish Nursing program, which currently encompasses congregations that serve minority residents, to create community navigation infrastructure to improve awareness of and access to community resources. SHHEC Objective: Continue funding for SHHEC Emergency Department social workers to navigate uninsured and low-income residents to community resources, including primary care medical homes. Next Steps for Priorities For each of the priority areas listed above, SHHEC will work with their respective community partners to: Identify successful activities already in the community on which to build Identify best practices and evidenced-based health improvement initiatives Develop detailed work plans that specify measurable goals and objectives and the role and responsibility of the community partners Build support for the initiatives within the community Continue to communicate progress and results to the public Priority Needs Not Being Addressed and the Reasons There were three prioritized needs identified in the CHNA, of which SHHEC will implement objectives that address them all. Approval 4

5 The Long Range Planning Committee of the Sacred Heart Health System Board of Directors meets four times a year to review key data and information about the status of communities served by the three hospitals and to approve strategies, goals, and tactics that further SHHEC s mission, vision, and values in that community. This planning process results in an annual written plan and budget that includes initiatives that support Healthcare that Leaves No One Behind, a key component of our strategic framework for community benefit. This Implementation Strategy was prepared for the May 9 th, 2013 meeting of the Long Range Planning Committee of the Board of Directors. Long Range Planning Committee Approval: Name/Title Date 5