Making the most of community health planning in Ohio: The role of hospitals and local health departments

Under a changing policy landscape, hospitals and local health departments (LHDs) can play a critical role in aligning and leveraging community health planning activities across the state to improve the health of Ohioans.

New rules require hospitals and LHDs collaborate with organizations within their community to prioritize their community’s health needs, and develop plans and implement strategies to address those needs.

The HPIO brief  reviews current community health planning requirements for hospitals and LHDs, presents initial findings from a study of hospital and LHD community health planning documents and identifies opportunities for increasing the effectiveness of community health planning processes in Ohio.

Additional resources

• Summary of community health planning requirements for hospitals and local health departments (LHDs)
• Potential partners in community health planning: Other entities required to conduct community assessments
• Community health planning resources
• Catholic Health Association of the United States 2015 Community Benefit Print Resources
• Boosting Community Health Impact: The Vital Role of Collaboration — Center for Health Affairs Issue Brief