Community Impact Reports

Suburban Hospital’s footprint has long been rooted in community health. In living out its mission to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care, the services provided by our staff expand beyond the walls of the hospital and deep into Montgomery County, nurturing a healthy, vibrant and resilient community. The following describes Suburban’s process for community health improvement, which guides and informs our work to achieve significant and lasting change.

Community Health Needs Assessment

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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires nonprofit hospitals to complete community health needs assessments (CHNAs) every 3 years. A CHNA is a systematic, stakeholder-driven process that uses scientifically valid health indicators and comparative information to determine the most significant health needs of residents in a defined geographic area.

The 2022 Montgomery County Hospital Collaborative Community Health Needs Assessment (MCHC CHNA) marks a valuable milestone in Montgomery County, MD, as it represents the first-ever collaborative CHNA among Suburban and the other five Montgomery County hospitals. The collaborative nature of the 2022 CHNA serves to leverage resources and capacities for a more comprehensive needs assessment.

The 2022 MCHC CHNA identified nine health factors (organized in three main domains) contributing to poor health outcomes in our community:

  • Access to Care
    • Access to mental health providers
    • Access to primary care providers
    • Lack of insurance
  • Healthy Behaviors
    • Food insecurity
    • Adult obesity
    • Physical inactivity
  • Education, Income, Job & Environment
    • Workforce/labor shortages
    • Income inequality
    • Housing cost burden

These nine health factors are recognized as root causes that impact a person’s health, well-being, and quality of life. For further information on how Suburban and the other five hospital plan to address each identified unmet need, please review the Montgomery County Hospital Collaborative Implementation Strategy.

Read the 2022 CHNA.

Community Health Implementation Strategy

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Developed every three years in response to the latest CHNA and adopted by the Board of Trustees, Suburban Hospital’s implementation strategy is a roadmap for addressing community health priorities and improving health outcomes. The strategy considers where resources will generate the greatest impact by applying three critical lenses:

  • Health Equity: Reduce gaps in access to preventive services for vulnerable populations
  • Access to Care: Increase access to specialty care for low-income and uninsured residents
  • Healthy Behaviors: Promote healthy and active living

The implementation strategy connects the hospital, community partners, clinicians and other resources with identified health needs. Suburban Hospital aligns health priorities with the areas of greatest identified need and considers where the hospital’s resources will generate the greatest impact.

Read the 2022 Montgomery County Hospital Collaborative Implementation Strategy

We Welcome Your Feedback.

Community members are invited to submit their comments and/or questions in response to Suburban’s 2022 CHNA and/or implementation strategy to [email protected] or by calling 301-896-3572.

Community Benefit

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Community benefit initiatives and programs at Suburban Hospital address local community health needs identified by our community health needs assessment. Community benefit includes the following:

  • Community health services
  • Health professional education
  • Mission-driven health services
  • Research
  • Financial contributions
  • Community building activities
  • Charity care

Access our most recent community benefit report.

See Our Previous Reports

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