News

HRiA is at the forefront of the growth in community health assessments (learn more about HRiA's CHA process) being conducted by a range of organizations and agencies. This growing demand has been brought on by the new IRS mandate for non-profit hospitals, the accreditation prerequisite for health departments, and an increased interest in more systemic, data-driven approaches to addressing community health concerns.

In Spring 2012, HRiA conducted a community health assessment in Mercer County, NJ for the Greater Mercer Public Health Partnership, a collaborative of 4 hospitals, 8 health departments, and the United Way. Findings reveal that while substance abuse, mental health, and obesity are considered pressing health issues, many larger social and economic concerns—such as limited transportation and affordable housing as well as unemployment—are also critical concerns that have an impact on the region's health.

HRiA is in the process of facilitating the next stage of this project which will result in a collaborative, participatory approach to developing the region’s community health improvement plan (CHIP), a roadmap of shared priorities, goals, objectives, and strategies to which community partners can align and coordinate future efforts (learn more about HRiA's CHIP process).

• Mercer County residents suffer from obesity and stress, community health assessment says (Times of Trenton, 7/19/2012)
• Mercer County’s Community Health Assessment unveiled (Central Jersey Sun, 7/25/2012)
• Princeton takes part in Mercer County health assessment (Central Jersey Sun, 8/10/2012)