A group of hospitals and the Florida Department of Health are joining forces to assess the health needs of the Tampa Bay area.
The 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment survey will focus on residents’ nutrition, physical activity, mental health and access to care.
The DOH offices in Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Polk counties are partnering with BayCare, Advent Health, Moffitt Cancer Center and Tampa General Hospital to conduct the survey.
Dr. Ayesha Johnson, CHNA coordinator, said it’s crucial for Tampa Bay residents to take part.
“For most of our organizations, we’re going to have a large community meeting within each county where people can actually come together and help us with visioning and planning,” said Johnson.
From past surveys, people have been most concerned about behavioral health, mental health and substance abuse issues. These concerns have become a focal point for the non-profit hospitals assisting in the program.
“We have been trying to look at and see how those things impact health and how we can affect not just programming, but if possible, even policy changes,” said Johnson, who added the results will give healthcare providers a starting place to create a community health improvement plan.
The survey is open until April 21.
