Sturgis Hospital

Winter 2017

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Faces of Sturgis TEAMING UP Better Together The 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) revealed valuable information about the barriers to health faced by residents of St. Joseph County, but no lesson from the report was more important than this: Only by working together can we create a healthier region for everyone. EVERY THREE YEARS, Sturgis Hospital partners with several local organizations to produce a CHNA, a report that identifies our communities' most pressing public health issues; see "Better Together" for a list of participating organizations. The 2016 CHNA combines the results of surveys of approximately 500 Sturgis area residents and about 50 local healthcare experts. The report found five significant areas of need: • Access to physician services • Education/ prevention • Diabetes • Mental health/ suicide • Obesity/physical inactivity "It is critical that we understand our communities' obstacles to health so we can be sure we're delivering the services they need," says Robert J. LaBarge, FACHE, Sturgis Hospital President and CEO. "The health-related issues our county faces require a combined response because they're too complex for one organization to solve. It's a good feeling to partner with like-minded organizations, both to create the CHNA and address the problems it highlights." Steps in the Right Direction When crafting ways to reduce or eliminate the county's top health challenges, Sturgis Hospital and its partners didn't have to start from scratch. They already offer a variety of services designed to increase access to care and empower community members to live healthier, including: • A Spanish-language diabetes program, a partnership between Sturgis Hospital and the Michigan State University Extension • Diabetes PATH workshops available through the Hospital and other organizations • StepUp St. Joseph County, a collaborative online resource that promotes local, health-focused events • Sturgis Hospital Gesundheit Student Help & Healing Center, a partnership of the Hospital, Sturgis Public Schools, and the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency that provides health care and education to students and health insurance navigation to families • Sturgis Hospital Walk-in Clinics, AM&PMcare, and FastCare "We need to learn to take better care of ourselves, our families, and our neighbors," says Theresa Christner, MA, Health Education/ Promotion Director at the Branch-Hillsdale- St. Joseph Community Health Agency, one of the organizations that helped create the CHNA. "When we make health a priority and incorporate healthy behaviors into everything we do, eventually, they become second nature—and the health problems of our community become easier to solve." Sheila Miller DIETARY DEPARTMENT Tony Prior MATERIALS MANAGEMENT Becky Soergel, RN WOUND CARE CLINIC Tina Moore, RN ENDOSCOPY DEPARTMENT Lacy Thaxton, LPN COLON MEDICAL CLINIC The following organizations collaborated to create the 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment: » Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency » Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County to Tackle Our Communities' Greatest Health Challenges To read the 2016 CHNA, visit www.SturgisHospital.com. » Covered Bridge Healthcare of St. Joseph County » St. Joseph County Human Services Commission » Sturgis Hospital » Three Rivers Health 7 S T U RG I S H O S P I TA L | Caring for the Community Annual Report 2016

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