2010-2013 CHA Introductory Letter

Dear Commissioners and Public Health Directors:

This letter provides you with information to begin work on the four year 2010-2013 Community Health Assessment (CHA). The Community Health Assessment, as one of the five basic services in Article 6, is part of the Municipal Public Health Services Plan (MPHSP). The MPHSP, including the CHA must be submitted together, on or before July 31, 2009. The MPHSP guidance and format will be sent to you at a later date.

As you are aware, the CHA will again be a document that reflects the collaboration of community partners, including hospitals, CBOs, not-for-profit organizations, and members of the community. The CHA will reflect this community collaboration and will identify 2-3 priorities as outlined in the Prevention Agenda toward the Healthiest State, which was launched in April during Public Health Week.

In response to requests for information on the CHA, copies of the following materials are attached for your use in preparing the CHA:

  1. The previous Guidance and Format document used for the 2005-10 CHA has been revised to include information on the Prevention Agenda.
  2. The Checklist/Index to outline the content of the CHA has also been revised to include information on the Prevention Agenda.

Please review these documents carefully and forward this note and its attachments to those individuals responsible for submitting the CHA.

When the MPHSP materials are available, a request for submission of both the completed MPHSP, which includes the CHA will be sent to you. At that time you will be given instructions for electronic submission of these documents.

Please be aware that we will not accept CHA submissions separate from the MPHSP. The CHA must be submitted as a part of your MPHSP.

Because of technical difficulties we will not be using the CHA electronic reporting system (CHAERS) to collect summary information on the CHA. However, a summary document will be provided to you at a later date.

Additionally, we would like to be able to connect parties interested in participating in your community health assessment process with you. Please provide me with the contact information (name, phone, email) for an individual in your LHD who would be working with community partners by completing the following information and returning this email to me.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Marie D. Miller, M.S.

Deputy Director

Office of Public Health Practice

P: 518-473-4223 F: 518-473-8714