Every three years since 2016, organizations under the umbrella of Ozarks Health Commission come together to publish a Regional Health Assessment (RHA). The Commission's work has been recognized at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, honored as a Promising Practice by the National Association of County and City Health Officials and awarded the Group Merit Award from the Missouri Public Health Association.
Building on the success of past regional health assessments, the partners again sought to better understand the health status, behaviors and needs of the populations served. The Region includes 30 counties spanning the southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma. The full Ozarks Health Commission RHA can be found at www.ozarkshealthcommission.org/ or you can download and view the Commission's report below.
Within the Commission Region, seven multi-county communities were defined based on hospital service areas. The Springfield community is a 3-county area that includes hospitals of Cox Health Systems, Mercy Hospital Systems, Burrell Behavioral Health, Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Christian County Health Department, Springfield-Greene County Health Department and Webster County Health Department. The Springfield Community Summary presents key findings for the area and describes the process used to prioritize the top assessed health issues of concern. The document provides local stakeholders and organizations with information necessary to better understand the health needs of their communities.