Improving the health of residents of Western Pennsylvania and Southwestern New York is core to Allegheny Health Network's (AHN) mission. To achieve this, AHN conducted a system-wide Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) from 2024-2025, providing a comprehensive understanding of regional health needs.
This CHNA, encompassing AHN's 14 hospitals (Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny Valley Hospital, Canonsburg Hospital, Forbes Hospital, Grove City Medical Center, Jefferson Hospital, Neighborhood Hospitals - Brentwood, Harmar, Hempfield, McCandless, Saint Vincent Hospital, West Penn Hospital, Westfield Memorial Hospital, and Wexford Hospital), guides AHN’s priorities, interventions, and resource allocation. The data informs collaborative efforts with community agencies and providers to improve population health.
Building upon previous CHNAs (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2021), this assessment provides a roadmap for AHN's community benefit and improvement initiatives. Key needs have been identified and prioritized within each hospital community. AHN collaborates with partners to implement effective, system-wide solutions.
This work aligns with local community health improvement activities and public health initiatives led by the Allegheny, Chautauqua, and Erie County Health Departments to maximizing impact. This three-year assessment cycle complies with IRS requirements for non-profit hospitals. However, AHN values the CHNA far beyond regulatory compliance, viewing it as a crucial tool for ongoing partnership and community health enhancement.
A key component of this CHNA was robust community engagement. A Steering Committee comprised of AHN leadership, including institute and hospital representatives, and Highmark Health community affairs representatives, guided the process. The Steering Committee actively solicited input from diverse stakeholders through interviews, surveys, and other engagement methods. Our research partner, Tripp Umbach, played a crucial role in data collection, analysis, and the development of a long-term action plan.
The 2024-2025 AHN CHNA is comprised of eleven comprehensive reports – one for each hospital (and a collective report for the four neighborhood hospitals) – fulfilling the requirements of the Affordable Care Act for tax-exempt hospitals. These reports identify health issues and provide essential information for driving positive change.
Using these findings, AHN will address health disparities and needs. This requires ongoing commitment from AHN, community partnerships, and individual community members. In 2025, AHN hospitals will finalize comprehensive implementation plans to guide strategies and programs based on the CHNA findings.
