For immediate release: Jan. 9, 2013

PIONEER VALLEY - The Coalition of Western Massachusetts Hospitals is conducting a community health needs assessment to identify and address the most pressing public health needs in the Pioneer Valley. Community members are encouraged to participate by taking the Community Health Survey.  The link to the survey, in both English and Spanish, can be found here.

This Coalition is a partnership among 8 area tax-exempt hospitals:  Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center (a member of Sisters of Providence Health System), Shriners Hospitals for Children-Springfield, and Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers (a member of UMass Memorial Health Care). They are committed to including all Pioneer Valley residents in the survey, which is currently available in English and Spanish; paper copies are soon available in Russian and Vietnamese.

The Coalition began meeting to plan the process for this Community Heath Needs Assessment in August of 2012, and is scheduled to have reports finalized by Spring 2013.  Their goal is to identify the health and safety assets of area communities and also to determine the potential concerns they face. They will do so by asking residents for their opinions about these issues, services presently available, their satisfaction with these services, and identification of other programs that may be needed. 
 
The Community Health Needs Assessment survey will take 15 minutes or less to complete and will be available through Feb. 15. Survey respondents will only be identifiable by ZIP code of residence, and all individual responses will be kept confidential. 

All survey respondents will have the option to enter a drawing for an iPad mini and several gift cards. Personal contact information entered for drawing registration will be kept confidential and used solely for the purpose of this drawing and not for any marketing purposes.

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