Access, prevention and mental health.

Those are the three “priorities” St. Luke’s University Health Network identified in its 2019-2022 Community Health Needs Assessment.

Nonprofit hospitals are required to complete the survey every three years to maintain their tax-exempt status. St. Luke’s scheduled three presentations to lay out the results of its latest CHNA, starting with the rural communities surrounding its Carbon and Schuylkill campuses. That data was presented Wednesday in the Scheller Building at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Tamaqua.

“The CHNA is really the crux of what we’re all about as an organization,” Wendy Lazo, president of St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale, said.

“This survey is not something that we do just to check a box,” Lazo said. “We use this survey to drive strategy, to drive operational planning, to try to drive program planning. We do a lot with this information.”

Data for the assessment came from more than 10,000 surveys and 11 focus groups across the network’s campuses. County, state and national data were also used in the report.

Pooled together, the information highlights three main health concerns in the region: access to care, preventing chronic disease and mental and behavioral health, said Rajika Reed, of St. Luke’s Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine.

The three priorities identified “were related to the social determinants of health,” Reed said. Social determinants of health are defined as environmental conditions that influence one’s health, like income, education, employment, housing and more.

“Our focus is on vulnerable populations to truly understand the needs of our community and then move forward based on what we’re seeing,” Reed said.

The results

According to St. Luke’s 2019-2022 CHNA, in the network’s rural service area (which encompasses the Geisinger, Miners, Palmerton and Gnaden Huetten campuses):

• Sixty percent of children in the region are eligible for free or reduced lunches.

• More than 8% of the population lack health insurance.

• The top reason given for postponing medical care was high costs.

• About 14% of those who responded to the survey were unemployed.

• In 2018, the homeless population in Carbon and Schuylkill counties totaled 107 people.

• A total of 80% of survey respondents were overweight or obese.

• People who make less than $25,000 annually had higher diabetes diagnosis rates (40%) than those with an income of $60,000 (12%).

• Opioid overdose deaths in Carbon County increased from 7.6 (2007 to 2011) per 100,000 residents to 18.1 (2012 to 2016). In Schuylkill County, that figure jumped from 3.9 to 24.5 per 100,000 residents over the same time period.

• Data from the 2017 Pennsylvania Youth Survey found that 39% of students in Carbon County reported feeling depressed or sad most days over a 12-month period.

To access the full assessment, go to www.slhn.org/community-health/community-health-needs-assessment.

County rankings

Reed compiled health rankings — such as unemployment, inactivity and excessive drinking — from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation into a chart, comparing the country’s top performers, the commonwealth, New Jersey and seven Pennsylvania counties. Rankings for the counties were presented in red (at or below state standard), yellow (above state standard) or green (at or above top performers.) Reed asked the crowd what stood out about the chart.

“Lots of red,” one audience member replied.

Reed noted that Carbon and Schuylkill counties did not meet the top performance level in any of the 20 rankings listed.

“So lots of work to be done,” she said. “Our rural counties really do have a lot more needs and need more support overall.”

Rosemarie Lister, community based rural health director, said community forums were held last spring and surveys were distributed in the summer. A committee has met every quarter since 2014 to discuss past CHNA results, but Wednesday was the first time St. Luke’s gave a public presentation on the data.

Future presentations

Presentations on St. Luke’s Bethlehem and Monroe campuses are scheduled for June 11 and June 12, respectively. The Bethlehem Campus presentation will start at 4 p.m. at Nitschmann Middle School. For Monroe, the presentation will be held at Northampton Community College in Tannersville. It will begin at 9:30 a.m.