COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT 2022-2024
Health Departments There are four separate health departments located in Baptist Health Paducah’s CHNA service area: Purchase District Health Department, which serves McCracken, Ballard and Carlisle counties; Graves County Health Department; Marshall County Health Department; and Pennyrile Health Department, which serves Livingston County. The Purchase Health Department was a member of the Purchase District Health Connections Coalition. These departments provide environmental, preventive, curative, and health maintenance services to area citizens by direct healthcare, health education, counseling, and enforcement of laws that protect health and the environment. Physicians Despite recruiting efforts, primary care physicians remain in short supply in the service area. Baptist Health Paducah and Baptist Health Medical Group remain committed to bringing more primary care providers to the market. Despite the number of physicians and medical facilities in the service area, there are still underserved areas. There are partial and full Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in the service area. Specialty physicians are less of a need in the service area, but specific specialties are still being recruited.
Committee Discussion The Community Health Needs Assessment committee met on several occasions throughout the process, both in person and via telephone conferencing. The committee reviewed primary and secondary data. Committee members expressed their thoughts about several health concerns where Baptist Health Paducah should concentrate its resources over the next three years. Finally, team members collaborated to produce this report. After studying the primary and secondary data, the committee discussed the issues. It became clear the main issues were access to care, obesity and related health concerns, mental health and substance abuse, and smoking and related health issues. They prioritized these issues based on their severity and on the ability of Baptist Health Paducah and its partners to help improve them.
29
