Intermountain Health Addressing Community Needs

Intermountain Health is committed to helping people live the healthiest lives possible. As part of that commitment, Intermountain is invested in finding ways it can help improve health and well-being in the communities it serves. This work is guided by something called a Community Health Needs Assessment (or CHNA). In simple terms, a CHNA is a study conducted by Intermountain to gain insight into current, prominent health issues faced by our communities.

Every three years, Intermountain engages community leaders, partners, and other organizations to know what priorities it can help support in our communities.

“The Community Health Needs Assessments allows us to see how the resources and work we do make a difference in the communities we support,” said Marry Ramirez, Intermountain Health Community Health Program Manager in central Utah. “We want to improve the overall health and well-being of those we serve. We accomplish that through partnerships, implementing programs, and improving access to care.”

In central Utah for example, Intermountain identified the following priorities for 2023-25:

• Improve Mental Well-Being
  • Intermountain’s partners in mental health include Unite Us and Central Utah Counseling. Since 2023, Intermountain has also increased its messaging around mental health resources, which it shares with at-risk patients and at community health events.
  • According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experience mental illness crisis in a given year, and similar rates are observed in Utah. Mental health is a prominent issue in our rural communities. Access to mental health providers is limited, and a stigma continues to persist around cognitive therapy. However, research is clear that therapy has a positive impact on patients and that it can drastically improve life outcomes.
• Improve Chronic Disease and Avoidable Health Outcomes
  • According to Intermountain, only 30% of chronic disease is based on a person’s genetics. In contrast, up to 60% of chronic disease is influenced by individual behaviors. Diet, exercise, and awareness play a significant role in our health and have lasting impacts.
  • Since 2023, Intermountain’s local facilities have increased efforts to engage and inform our communities on health best practices. Local facilities also share information from medical specialists and local providers through news, radio, events, and social media to help increase awareness for issues like heart health, colon cancer, nutrition, breast cancer, and suicide prevention.
• Address and Invest in Social Determinants of Health
  • Social determinants of health include nutritional security (access to healthy food) and housing, which are the two greatest areas of concern in our communities. A lack of healthy food and/or safe housing creates health risks, not only short-term but long-term. Food and shelter are crucial for living healthily and avoiding chronic disease later in life.
  • Intermountain partners with R6 Regional Council to address housing concerns, and it is a large grant contributor to community programs for housing and nutrition. Local facilities also support food banks in our communities through donations.

Other local programs and institutions have also benefitted from Intermountain’s community health focus. For example, Intermountain helped fund the “Parents as Teachers” curriculum last year, which provided essential support and resources to women, children, and families in central Utah.  In 2024, Intermountain also made donations to The Backpack Club for meal kits for hundreds of local children, which are supplied 52 weeks during the year and during holiday breaks.

“Good health goes hand in hand with strong communities, we work, live and play in each of our communities,” said Aaron Wood, CEO of Intermountain Sanpete Valley Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Utah. “The one thing I know and hear about in our rural communities is how we support each other. We are small but mighty. That sense of belonging thrives here.”

While the current CHNA focuses on mental health, disease, and social issues, past efforts have included injury and violence prevention and opioid awareness and prevention. Community program grants for local charities from Intermountain Health in Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne counties totaled $204,168 in 2024. Intermountain also distributed about 1,000 gun locks, conducted ten Naloxone trainings, and provided 317 Naloxone kits (used to reverse opioid overdoses) last year in central Utah.

“Our hospitals and clinics see less than half of Millard County residents each year, and usually only when they’re sick,” said Kurt Forsyth, Intermountain Delta and Fillmore Community Hospitals President. “The CHNA helps us understand the needs of those who have not seen a local doctor. We are actively pursuing additional resources to bring to the community, and the CHNA helps direct our efforts.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Intermountain Health caregivers demonstrate infant rescue techniques at Sanpete Valley Hospital Ladies Night Out event in 2024.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.