Through collaboration with numerous community partners Logansport Memorial Hospital has released the Cass County Community Health Needs Assessment today.
A Community Health Assessment is a systematic method of identifying unmet health care and human service needs and possible interventions to meet those needs. To read more, visit our website.
After months of research, the results of this assessment are complete. The report includes secondary data from national, state and local sources. It also includes primary data that encompasses the community’s perspective and identifies areas within that demonstrate success as well those needing improvement.
The study also fulfills the IRS requirements for not-profit hospitals to conduct a community health needs assessment under The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The IRS mandates non-profit hospitals to conduct a community needs assessment every three years. The study was conducted by Professional Research Consultants, Inc., a leader in national healthcare research.
Overall, the findings show that there is a need for additional information and services that promote healthy lifestyles and make health education and healthcare easier to access. Key areas of opportunity include access to care; chronic disease management and health screens; maternal, infant, and child health and physical activity and weight.
Key findings include:
- Just over 15% of the population in the county is at or below the poverty rate.
- The county’s per capita income is $31,648, considerably lower than Indiana’s per capita income of $36,342.
- Cass County reports 13.6% uninsured individuals.
68.7% of Cass County residents stated they have a specific source of ongoing medical care. - The diabetes rate in Cass County is higher (14.4%) than the state and national averages; especially among individuals 40 years and older.
- 90% of adults exhibit one or more cardiovascular risk factors such as overweight, smoking, high blood pressure/cholesterol, lack of exercise.
- 69% of the adults in the county are overweight or obese.
- 26.9% of residents smoke and 26.3% of pregnant females smoke during pregnancy.
- 62.2% of births are to mothers who have received prenatal care in the first trimester.
The complete report, executive summary and implementation plan are available for download at https://www.logansportmemorial.org/community. For additional information, contact Vicki Byrd, VP Planning and Development at (574) 753-1414.
Cass County is faced with the challenge of balancing resident’s access to quality health and human services with decreasing resources and increasing demand. By understanding the needs of the community and focusing efforts, resources can effectively improve the health of the residents.