Partners for Public Health

Hospitals and health departments can collaborate on community health needs assessments

By Angela Carman, Lawrence Prybil and Mary K. Totten

Our understanding of effective governance in hospitals and health systems is growing. Several recent studies find that meeting certain benchmarks for board structure, composition, culture and evaluation practices has become a basic governance responsibility.

These studies also call for heightened board engagement in governance oversight responsibilities. Gaining a deeper understanding of and encouraging partnerships to address community health needs is one way boards can help fulfill their organization’s fundamental mission to improve community health.

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