Health Council of South Florida

Summary

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With over 15 years of experience in developing and implementing needs assessments, HCSF is well-positioned to assist administrators in meeting the new IRS requirement for comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).  Health Council of South Florida has the capacity to gather the latest data, conduct focus groups, integrate hospital-specific data sets, and include customized reports based on facility or system need.  Using a combination of HCSF resources including community groups, focus groups, local data, Medi-Dat, and HealthScope, health systems and facilities can meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) and IRS 990 CHNA requirements.

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Purpose

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The Health Council of South Florida (HCSF) conducts Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) intended to be used by hospitals in meeting the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the IRS 990 CHNA requirements. Upon completion of the CHNA process, HCSF will provide a CHNA report that prioritizes health issues and community health status.

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Process

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This work is performed in concert with a Steering Committee of key staff to create the document.  The resultant CHNAs are based on the latest data, focus group results, and integration of hospital-specific data sets. The CHNA allows hospitals to meet new Affordable Care Act CHNA requirements and presents a more complete picture of community health status.

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The CHNA serves as a guiding document for the hospital’s CHNA Implementation Plan, which is a separate product and not included in this document.

 

Background

 

What is a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)?

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As part of the new ACA requirements, hospital organizations are required to conduct a community health needs assessment (CHNA), which serves as a guiding document for strategic planning. Through the process of developing a CHNA, the HCSF will support hospitals positioning themselves to address community health needs that are not being met, especially those of the poor and homeless individuals and families.  Health data from primary and secondary sources are examined and discussed prior to the establishment of recommendations and priorities aimed at improving the community’s health status and quality of life.

 

The New IRS Requirements

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The Affordable Care Act established specific statutory requirements that hospitals must meet to qualify as organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from federal income tax. Section 501(c)(3) does not explicitly address government hospitals, nor does it include a specific exception for government hospitals. Accordingly, Treasury and the IRS intend to apply section 501(c)(3) to every hospital organization that has been recognized (or seeks recognition) as an organization described in section 501(c)(3).”

 

Benefits of CHNAs to hospitals

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In addition to meeting IRS requirements, public hospitals can utilize the CHNA to:

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• Integrate needs assessment findings in planning and strategy development

• Improve planning effectiveness

• Help set future goals

• Guide resource allocation decisions

 

Community Health Needs Assessments act as a call to action and often lead to

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• Grant writing and funding opportunities

• Enhanced community partnerships to address common health issues

• Improved policy- and decision-making by providing information on the most important health issues faced by local residents