Community members throughout Ravalli County may soon be receiving an important survey form in their mailbox. This survey, sent to a random sample of homes, will help Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and other healthcare related entities identify what, if any, additional healthcare services are needed and/or if there are health issues in the community that may not presently be adequately addressed. Information gained from the survey will be analyzed and a report issued to the community disclosing the findings.
Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has been selected by the Montana Healthcare Research and Education Foundation and the Montana Office of Rural Health (MORH) to participate in the Community Health Services Development Program (CHSD) with survey assistance from the National Rural Health Resource Center of Duluth, Minnesota.
Through the CHSD Program, Ravalli County will receive assistance designed to help communities identify health related issues and define solutions that may improve healthcare for its citizens. This program was developed by the University of Washington School of Medicine. It has been used in other Montana communities as a way to develop and maintain quality health care to serve the continuing and future needs of the community.
“We are very excited about working with Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital on this project,” said Kristin Juliar, Director of the Montana Office of Rural Health. “The CHSD Program promotes healthcare as a local affair. Healthcare delivered in rural communities is affordable, high quality, and necessary to the good health of the entire community. Citizens of rural counties can take responsibility for the health of their community. Most communities face a large number of complex issues in providing high quality healthcare, but fortunately, Ravalli County can engage effective problem-solving, which is the most important factor in the survival of rural health services.”
Ravalli County will receive assistance in identifying its most important health concerns through the use of an economic impact assessment and a community health survey that will be distributed to a random sample in mid-August of this year. The survey will analyze local community needs, use of local healthcare services and overall community health. The results will be shared with the citizens of the community who will then have the opportunity to provide input as to possible steps that may be reasonably instituted to address issues deemed to have the highest priority.
An accompanying goal of the survey is to raise awareness of the availability of quality healthcare services presently available in our community, which awareness may save local residents time, money and be more convenient than traveling outside of the community.
Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital is assisting in the development of this important initiative. The hospital, which offers a number of services that are generally available only in larger communities, is constantly seeking community input and working to improve the scope and delivery of the finest healthcare possible to the citizens and guests of Ravalli County.
“We are proud of the facilities and services Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital offers and are especially proud of its 500 physicians, nurses and support staff that are dedicated to caring for the citizens and guests of our community in a personal, compassionate home town way,” said John Bartos, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital CEO. “The goal of this initiative is to assist forward-thinking rural hospitals such as Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and the communities served in aligning their respective resources, to address present and future healthcare issues and needs in the best way possible.”