Vision

The Vision Statement was developed through collaboration between the Health ENC Steering Committee, Bladen County Health Department and Cape Fear Valley Health -Bladen  Hospital. The 2024 CHNA process aspires to create a healthier eastern North Carolina where collaborative action, shared resources, and community engagement converge to eliminate health disparities and build resilient, connected communities that support wellbeing for generations to come.

CHNA Leadership

Bladen County CHNA Leadership Bladen County opted for a bi-sectoral approach to the leadership of the 2024 CHNA process, which included representatives from Bladen County Health Department (BCHD) and Cape Fear Valley Health Bladen Hospital.

Partnerships/Collaborations

The 2024 CHNA process for Bladen County included a variety of different stakeholders who assisted with community engagement activities, provided feedback, and participated in the prioritization process. A summary of the partner organizations who participated in the process is below.

Regional Contracted Services

 The 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) was developed as part of the Health ENC coalition's collaborative, regional 2024 CHNA process. The Health ENC Steering Committee and Bladen County CHNA Leadership contracted with Ascendient Healthcare Advisors to coordinate the regional CHNA process, including primary and secondary data analysis, relevant trainings for county partners and development of the contents of this report.

Theoretical Framework

The Bladen CHNA was developed in alignment with the RWJF population health framework, originally developed by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute. Population health focuses on health status and outcomes among a specific group of people, and can be based on geographic location, health diagnoses or common health providers. The population health framework recognizes that the issues that affect health in a community are complex; there are many factors that have the potential to impact health outcomes, including both length and quality of life, within a population. Broadly, these factors include the clinical care available to community members, individual health behaviors, the physical environment, and the social and economic conditions in the community.

Collaborative Process

The Health ENC 2024 process formally kicked off with a collaborative meeting of all participating counties on February 8th, 2024. It concluded with the delivery of final CHNA reports to all 34 counties on December 20th, 2024. A summary of key process milestones is shown below. 

Key Findings

Key sources for secondary data included information provided by the Steering Committee and a variety of public data sources related to demographics, social and economic determinants of health, environmental health, health status and disease trends, mental/behavioral health trends, and individual health behaviors.  Each data measure was compared to state or national benchmarks to identify areas of specific concern for Bladen County.

Top community needs identified through secondary data analysis included health concerns related to physical and behavioral health, and social or environmental concerns such as education, housing and homelessness, and family, community, and social support, among others.

Primary (new) data were collected through focus groups and a web-based survey for community members, and included feedback from 407 people who live, work or receive healthcare in Bladen County. A total of two in-person focus groups were conducted, with a variety of community members from different backgrounds, age groups and life experiences.

Primary data identified behavioral health (specifically mental health), employment and income, healthcare access and quality, and physical health (chronic diseases, cancer, obesity) as top needs that impact the health and well-being of people living in Bladen County.

Health Priorities

Bladen County conducted a prioritization meeting on August 27, 2024, at the Bladen County Health Department. The meeting included representation from a diverse group of organizations and community members, including Cape Fear Valley Health System (CFVHS), Bladen Health and Human Services Committee, Healthy Bladen, Bladen County Health Department, Trillium, Bladen County Extension, Cape Fear Valley-Bladen Healthcare, and Bladen County Division of Aging. Participants included healthcare administrators, social workers, health educators, community outreach specialists, and community members. The prioritization process involved discussion and review of priority areas identified based on responses from the community to determine the greatest needs in Bladen County. It is not possible for every single area of potential need to be identified as a priority, Bladen County representatives selected three top priority needs.

• Behavioral Health/Substance Misuse
• Healthcare Access & Quality
• Nutrition & Physical Activity

Next Steps

CHNA findings are used to develop effective community health improvement strategies, addressing the priority needs identified throughout the process. The final step in the CHNA process is to develop community-based health improvement strategies and action plans to address the priorities identified in this assessment.  Health leaders in Bladen County will leverage information from this CHNA to develop implementation and action plans for their local community, while also working together with other community partners to ensure the priority need areas are being addressed in the most efficient and effective way.  Bladen County leaders recognize that the most effective strategies will be those that have the collaborative support of community organizations and residents and will include measurable objectives through which progress can be measured.

Representatives from Bladen County worked together to identify the priorities the county should focus on over the following three-year period. Leaders evaluated the primary and secondary data collected throughout the process to identify needs based on the size and scope, severity, the ability for hospitals or health departments to make an impact, associated health disparities, and importance to the community. Although it was not possible for every single area of potential need to be identified as a priority, Bladen County selected three top priority health needs (Behavioral Health, Healthcare Access and Quality, and Nutrition and Physical Activity), which are shown here in alphabetical order: