Wanted Information about health needs

St. Mary’s and the University of Georgia are now gathering information for the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). This assessment is conducted every three years to get the best possible picture of the region’s health needs. St. Mary’s and other providers use the information to decide how best to allocate resources to address the community’s unmet healthcare needs.

Information is being gathered in different ways in different counties, with all counties in St. Mary’s extended service area being represented, including those served by St. Mary’s Sacred Heart and Good Samaritan hospitals.

One of the primary methods of gathering information is through an online survey. If you live in a county being surveyed, we greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete a survey for your household.

If you live in the following counties and would like to participate in our survey, please click here:

• Oconee
• Franklin
• Hart
• Greene
• Putnam

If you live in Athens-Clarke County and receive an invitation from the Athens Wellbeing Project, please take the survey. Invitations have been sent to selected households in order to ensure scientifically valid representation across all neighborhoods and demographics of the community.

If you live in the following counties, St. Mary’s and UGA will be organizing focus groups to gain insight into the health needs of your community. Watch for more information coming soon.

• Banks
• Barrow
• Elbert
• Hancock
• Jackson
• Madison
• Morgan
• Oglethorpe
• Stephens
• Taliaferro
• Walton counties

The survey is completely voluntary and anonymous. You can choose not to answer any question. Everyone who participates in the survey will have the opportunity to be entered into a weekly drawing for a gift card.

“St. Mary’s will develop an implementation strategy based on the top 10 health needs that the CHNA finds in our community,” said Courtney Vickery, St. Mary’s Director of Corporate Health Services, which includes community benefit. “When people complete the survey, they help us focus our resources so that we can do the most good for the people most in need.”

Questions begin with basic demographic information, then continue with information about topics such as insurance status, access to transportation, known health conditions, affordability of medications, diet and exercise, housing quality, neighborhood safety, and whether you are able to see a doctor or dentist when you need to.

The online survey will be open until Jan. 31.

For more information about the survey, please contact Dr. Grace Bagwell Adams at 706.713.2701 or by email at gbagwell@uga.edu.

For information about St. Mary’s Health Care System’s CHNA process, click here.