To better understand and to meet the changing healthcare needs of the communities served by St. John’s Hospital-Lebanon, a detailed community needs assessment will be conducted in December in Laclede and Pulaski counties. The needs assessment is the project requested by the hospital’s local board of trustees; Charlie Brown, Dalton Wright, Dave Wilhite, Dr. Al Bealer, Dr. Karen Tabb, Dr. Neil Schwartzmann, Hugh Corry, Jon Swope, Ken Miller and Sybl Slaughter. “St. John’s-Lebanon is a community hospital, serving the local families of our area,” St. John’s Hospital-Lebanon Board President Wilhite says. “It’s important we listen to what area residents, served by this hospital, have to say about their health care.
The survey will be completed by St. John’s Hospital – Lebanon, St. John’s Health System and Sisters of Mercy. The communities to be surveyed will be Phillipsburg, Conway, Fort Leonard Wood, Richland, St. Robert, Stoutland and Lebanon. “Working with the Sisters of Mercy and the Springfield system, the information we gather will help us plan for the next phase of growth for our hospital,” Wilhite says.
“A major thrust of the assessment is to get feedback from our communities about health care needs and issues,” St. John’s Hospital-Lebanon President Mike Gillen says. “A significant component of the community assessment will be interviews with a variety of community members, including employers, physicians, community leaders and people involved with civic organizations as well as the health department, police department and others. Approximately 40 individual interviews will be conducted in and around Lebanon.”
Gillen says a detailed market analysis is also completed and is part of the needs assessment. The market assessment looks at population demographics, prevalence of health conditions and diseases and healthcare services that are available in the community. ”All of this information is summarized into a detailed report,” Gillen says. “This report is then used by our local board, St. John’s and Sisters of Mercy to help us plan for future programs and services to meet community health care needs now and into the future. Improving local health care by better serving our families and providing them with the best in services and facilities is our priority.”
For more information about the community needs assessment, please call the hospital at 417-533-6098.
