VANCOUVER, Wash. – PeaceHealth has released its 2025-2028 Community Health Needs Assessments for its nine medical centers in the Pacific Northwest, profiling needs specific to each region.
“The Community Health Needs Assessment process serves as a conversation starter that leads to an understanding of our communities that statistics cannot create alone,” said Liz Dunne, PeaceHealth president and chief executive officer. “At PeaceHealth, we find value and joy in building the relationships that make those conversations never-ending.”
CHNAs are conducted every three years, detailing current community medical needs, statistics and activities. Each CHNA identifies the areas of greatest need in the community and serves as a blueprint for the work to be done with local agencies and organizations to meet those needs and improve personal and community health.
“Driven by our belief that good health, prevention, and community well-being is a fundamental right, we are humbled and honored to serve and learn from our communities,” added Mike Dwyer, PeaceHealth executive vice president and chief strategy officer. “Our CHNA process holds us accountable to listening and learning from our communities and informs the development of our Community Health Improvement Plans.”
Building on work by community partners and meetings with local non-profits and government agencies, key findings included prioritizing early learning and childcare, the lack of affordable housing, access to substance use disorder treatment and behavioral health services, and addressing the needs of low-income households.
Four pillars of community health inform PeaceHealth’s priorities for health improvement and collaboration. Across these pillars is the awareness of PeaceHealth’s solemn responsibility to those who have been underserved, historically marginalized, and most impacted by health inequity and system injustices. These four pillars include:
- Home: Improve access to service-enriched housing.
- Hope: Increase education, access to treatment and prevention of dependence.
- Care: Expand knowledge, access and engagement with community caregivers.
- Nourish: Address food insecurities to enhance family and child well-being.
CHNA reports can be accessed at peacehealth.org/about-peacehealth/community-health/needs-assessment for all of the following:
Alaska: PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center
Washington: PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver; PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview; PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor; PeaceHealth United General Medical Center in Sedro-Woolley; PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham
Oregon: PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center; PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence; PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield
About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a non-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, nearly 3,200 physicians and clinicians, more than 160 clinics and 9 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.
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