Hospitals play a vital role in maintaining the fabric of our community by working 24/7 to care for patients. In doing so, they understand the importance of caring for those outside the walls of hospital buildings. At HASD&IC, one of the most important ways we engage with our community is through the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The process for the latest CHNA, which began last year, was guided by a deep commitment to listening, understanding, and uplifting community voices. Our initial research is now complete, and the CHNA Committee is currently reviewing the final 2025 CHNA report.
Thanks to our incredible partners — social service providers, community clinics, ethnic community-based organizations, community coalitions, the county of San Diego, and others — we have engaged more community members than ever and gained valuable insights into the health challenges they face.
Our academic research partner, the Institute for Public Health (IPH), is a research institution within the San Diego State University School of Public Health (SDSU SPH). On Feb. 26, the Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) announced that the SDSU SPH received the prestigious 2025 ASPPH Harrison C. Spencer Award for Outstanding Community Service. This award recognizes “an ongoing commitment to community service as reflected in programs and initiatives that are responsive to community needs and exhibit a meaningful partnership with the community.”
HASD&IC has partnered with the IPH for more than a decade to conduct research for our CHNA reports. This collabration has allowed our teams to build trust with community partners and find innovative approaches to our community-based participatory research. The 2025 CHNA report will be released in the next few months, bringing new opportunities for collaboration and advocacy. HASD&IC and our member hospitals strive to foster strong partnerships and actively engage with our community members to drive change. We truly could not do this work without the support and trust of our community, and for that, we are grateful. Congratulations to our partners at the IPH! Stay tuned for information about CHNA partners and findings in future messages.