STORY BY JOY PRUDEK

PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

South Central Public Health District, St. Luke’s Health System and Family Health Services are encouraging residents to participate in a survey to help assess South Central Idaho’s overall community health and to establish priorities in how to address health needs.

The online assessment, which takes less than 10 minutes to complete and will be open until May 31, is crucial in collecting data to inform community health improvement strategies for hospitals and health systems.

The survey is available in English and Spanish at https://linktr.ee/MetopioSurveys Make sure you choose the ‘South Central’ region which includes Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls Counties.  

“It’s important for residents to take this survey because it offers us direct, local input on how we can move forward in making South Central Idaho a healthier place to live,” said Susie Beem, Community Health Director, South Central Public Health District. “Your feedback will help us to better understand what SCPHD, health systems and community partners can do on the local level to create positive change.”

As an incentive to take the survey, people who complete the entire questionnaire and provide an email address will be entered into a raffle to receive $20 gift cards. Responses to survey questions will remain anonymous.

The input from community representatives and partners is used to rank local health needs. Identifying and addressing these needs is essential to improving population health, enhancing patient care and lowering health care costs. The results help inform a Community Health Needs Assessment, or CHNA, for each area. The CHNAs include a prioritized list of health needs related to individual health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and the physical environment.

“Our CHNAs help us better understand the most significant health challenges our community members are facing” said Makenzie Searle, manager of St. Luke’s Community Health and Engagement.

The needs identified in each CHNA act as a foundation for improving community health by establishing community health objectives; focusing efforts on improving the most impactful health needs; working together with partner organizations to improve community health; and developing targeted health improvement programs.

“After the publication of the CHNAs for each community, implementation plans are created to address each of the high priority health needs,” said Searle.

“It takes everyone to help improve the health of the community,” said Aaron Houston, Chief Executive Officer, Family Health Services.

Once the online assessment closes on May 31, local hospitals and Health Departments will assess the results, and findings will be available on the Idaho Oregon Community Health Atlas website in 2026.