Langdon Prairie Health’s recent Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) gives us a comprehensive look at our community’s current health level, as well as our current and future health needs. It also helps us figure out where resources should be used and how to go about planning programming that meets area residents’ needs.

Since 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that tax-exempt hospitals complete a CHNA at least once every three years. This is usually a multi-step process including:

• Planning for the assessment
• Identifying a team made up of various community stakeholders
• Conducting the assessment
• Reviewing and evaluating the assessment data
• Developing and implementing an action plan

A CHNA is a local evaluation that identifies key needs and issues through a systematic and comprehensive collection of data; that information is then looked at by a variety of area stakeholders in order to get an understanding of the current services and future needs and expectations of our community.

The assessment is a way of analyzing gaps in community services, as well as the strengths and assets available in our area. Needs are typically identified as inequalities between what services exist in our community and what should exist, while ultimately seeking to establish a continuous improvement process.

Many planners categorize their community’s needs into four groups:

• Perceived needs (based on what people feeltheir needs are)
• Expressed needs (based on the number of individuals who sought help)
• Absolute needs (i.e. sufficient food, water, clothing, safety, etc.)
• Relative needs (based on the level of services in a community compared to those in similar communities)

Categorizing needs helps communities prioritize their actionable steps once they’ve identified gaps and have made conclusions about what should be done to shrink those holes.

The final step of a CHNA results in a community health improvement plan, which is a long-term project to address public health concerns based on the results of the CHNA.

LPH worked with a variety of community leaders and organizations that have a stake in this information and who are working together to provide:

• population-wide, evidence-based interventions
• innovative practices
• measurable results and accountability
• thorough evaluation
• maximum transparency to improve community engagement

Thank you to all of the people who are working on LPH’s CHNA team:

• Stephanie Welsh, Cavalier County Public Health
• Maria Eisenzimmer, LPH Population Health Nurse
• Chris Sanders, LPH Ambulance Director
• Jill Denault, Cavalier County Social Services - Director
• Jason Carlson, Maple Manor Care Center
• Nick Beneda, Park River Dental
• Julie Baumgarn, Lake Region Human Service Center - Director
• Jerry Nowatzki, Mayor
• Todd Hetler, Langdon Area School Elementary Principal
• Ethen Askvig, Langdon Area School Middle & High School Principal
• Patti McKibben, Langdon Daycare Center - Director
• Jeff Stanley, Langdon Prairie Health - CEO
• Jackie Dvorak, Chamber of Commerce
• Kathy Muhs, Cavalier County Cancer Crusaders - President
• Richard Eklof, Eklof Optometry
• Ken Carwile, Keystone Chiropractic
• Jay DuBois, Langdon Prairie Health Board of Trustees -  President
• Dawn Roppel, Langdon Prairie Health Board of Trustees - Vice President
• Shauna Schneider, Langdon Prairie Health Board of Trustees - Secretary
• Kathy Kopf, Langdon Prairie Health Board of Trustees - Treasurer
• Runa Anderson, Langdon Prairie Health Board of Trustees - member
• Sherry Buchweitz, Langdon Prairie Health Board of Trustees - member
• David Kavish, Langdon Prairie Health - Pharmacist

Is a CHNA really necessary?

Aside from being required by the ACA, it’s important to have a complete understanding of the issues that exist within the community before developing a plan to address those concerns, and an assessment guides decision-making and priority-setting. All of this helps build programs around the services that are most critical for our community.

It’s important to recognize what matters to area residents and to be aware of the changes – and improvements! – they want to see. Plus, conducting a CHNA also highlights the strengths of our surrounding area and helps us move toward more positive movements in programs and services.

LPH completes a community health needs assessment (CHNA) every three years to better understand the health of our community – and to inform the steps we’ll take to continue to enhance the well-being of all Cavalier County residents.

We’ve identified and prioritized these three focus areas to improve upon during the next three years:

• Behavioral Health
• Chronic Disease Management
• Access to Healthcare Services

Below, you’ll find a few items from the feedback we’ve collected in this year’s CNHA; you can find the entire document on our website, as well as our implementation plan to address these areas, on our Community Health Needs Assessment page.

Services you are currently leaving town for that you would like to see offered at LPH?

• Dental: 53%
• OB/Gynecology: 37%
• Mental Health: 32%
• Foot surgery: 24%
• Eye surgery: 23%
• Other: 19%
• Cosmetic/Laser: 15%
• MRI: 14%

Age of Respondents

• 65 or older: 14%
• 55-64: 20%
• 45-54: 16%
• 35-44: 20%
• 25-34: 23%
• 18-24: 5%
• Under 18: 1%

164 Survey Respondents (a 397% increase in responses since 2019)

• Community Resident: 131
• Healthcare Professional: 56
• Educator: 14
• Government Employee: 10
• Underserved Population: 2
• Public Health Official: 2
• Organization: 1