Improving the Health of Our Community
Through Assessment and Planning
Like every hospital in the Albany Med Health System, Columbia Memorial Hospital participates in efforts to support the Prevention Agenda, New York State’s Health Improvement Plan, which serves as a blueprint for state and local action to improve the health and well-being of all New Yorkers and promote health equity across any population that is experiencing a health disparity. The NYS Prevention Agenda outlines evidence-based strategies to reduce the number of people who suffer or die from disease, with the goals of improving the quality of life and extending it.
The current Prevention Agenda is for the six-year period between 2019 and 2024 and can be found here: https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/prevention_agenda/2019-2024.
Every three years, hospitals in the System engage in efforts to assess the community’s health status and key health issues. The product of these efforts—a document called the Community Health Needs Assessment, or CHNA–compiles and examines pertinent information such as hospitalization and emergency department data, prevention quality indicators, demographic data and health behaviors. Moreover, the structure of the CHNA is based upon the Prevention Agenda, which creates opportunities to compare the Capital Region, and Columbia and Greene Counties in particular, with other Upstate counties and New York State goals.
After the CHNA is compiled, it is meant to inform the planning process that follows. Using data from the CHNA, health issues are identified, prioritized and selected to become the focus of a three-year plan of action called the Community Services Plan, or CSP.
In Columbia and Greene Counties, Columbia Memorial Hospital collaborates closely with its partners, the Greene County Public Health Department and the Columbia County Department of Health, which have similar requirements, to produce both the CHNA and CSP. These documents, which were submitted to the New York State Department of Health in December 2022, can be found here:
The three entities, working across both institutional and geographic boundaries, will continue to partner on efforts to implement the Plan, which are now underway, with the goal of improving the health and wellness of the community they all serve.
Those interested in learning more about the Plan are encouraged to read its Executive Summary here.
To comment on this document pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, please contact Columbia Memorial Hospital:
Columbia Memorial Hospital
71 Prospect Avenue
Hudson, NY 12534
ATTN: Kristen Bielefeldt
keclark@cmh-net.org
(518) 697-5288