Community Health Needs Assessment

Shelby County Public Health, along with the Shelby County Board of Health, Myrtue Medical Center, and other community providers, needs your help in learning more about the health and specific needs of Shelby County residents. This information is collected every three years through our Community Health Needs Assessment Survey and is used to develop plans for future health improvements to the community.

Myrtue Medical Center and Myrtue’s Public Health Department, in partnership with community organizations, schools, and business representatives, use this feedback to prioritize plans to increase awareness, expand health and wellness services, increase access, and engage the community.

Promoting Population Health

Myrtue Medical Center is committed to promoting population health among the communities we serve. The following Community Health Improvement Plan is a comprehensive approach to assessing Shelby County’s health and developing an action plan for improvements. A Community Health Improvement plan has two parts: a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and a Health Improvement Plan (HIP).

External data was collected through surveys and a community forum to identify current Shelby County health needs and ways for Myrtue Medical Center to address them. Various representatives from community organizations, schools, and businesses, as well as community residents, participated in the Community Health Forum. Internal data was collected through multiple hospital meetings involving employees, Med Staff, Board of Trustees, and Senior Administration.

Myrtue Medical Center has prioritized the following strategic issues to improve health and wellness services in the communities we serve.

Mental Health Possible Objectives:

• Depression and Suicide Risk Screening for all age groups in the primary care setting. Include alcohol and drug screening/depression/suicide screenings. Includes enhanced training for RHC staff.
• Increase Access to services: to include decreasing stigmatization of mental health; increasing workplace EAP services, expansion of behavioral health space/integrate into the clinic setting, and decreasing isolation of the elderly population
• Expand mental health promotion activities in child care and school settings.

Social Determinants of Health:

• Access to Healthy food
• Transportation access for medical care--education to the public to learn the Medicaid system; market community resources better; expand the coupon system that provides SWITA rides to clinics and other health care services.
• Promote lead testing and lead education to reduce long-term poisoning implications in at-risk children.
• Marketing events to ensure that all community members are welcomed.

Physical Activity:

• Interventions to increase active travel to school
• Bike paths, walking school bus, etc.
• Increase access to activity monitors for overweight or obese individuals--HCP
• Provide opportunities, education, and support to help people stay active as people age.

Health Education:

• Diabetes education--prediabetes education and screening
• Tobacco use, including vaping
• Explore best practices for sharing health education in the community, including in the digital nation and through interactive communication.
• CHF/CV Disease education opportunities, including HTN.
• Consider a blog to post monthly educational information from HCP and content experts. Include a quarterly newsletter.

Health Improvement Plan

View our progress report for the Community Health Improvement Plan 2023-2026.