This Regional Health Assessment, the third since collaboration began in 2016, has been completed using hospital emergency department data from local hospital systems (CoxHealth, Freeman Health System, and Mercy Hospitals), public health and historical data from various county-level sources, and input from community stakeholders and members. While each county and community face unique challenges and have implemented unique solutions to keep their residents healthy, there are a number of conditions that impact the entire OHC Region. Analysis focused on a series of ‘assessed health issues’, or AHIs, which have been analyzed in order to determine the relative impact each has on the health of the Region’s residents and overall community health. These conditions of focus are largely consistent with those evaluated in previous iterations of the assessment and include mental health, cancer, COVID-19, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, oral health, and substance use and recovery. Communities then used the methodology described below to rank the AHIs to prioritize health goals over the next several years. Analysis of each AHI for the region will be further discussed in this document.
Each of the measures used to develop prioritized rankings are included in Appendices A and B of this document. They provide the associated metrics and color-coded comparison to state and national equivalents at the Community and county level. The narrative of this report will frequently compare Community and county rates to the Missouri state rate, as most counties in the region fall within Missouri’s boundaries. However, comparative rates for both Kansas and Oklahoma can be found in the Appendices.