WellSpan Health reaches beyond the walls of its hospitals to improve the health of the communities it serves. Community Health Improvement provides leadership and resources to address health status by identifying the determining factors that influence lifestyle and healthcare access issues. We have identified the following issues as being our top areas of community health improvement focus:
Childhood obesity, its impact on the development of chronic diseases, and the costs associated with its treatment are a pressing problem for today's society. It has been stated that this may be the first generation of young Americans, born today, who will have a shorter life span than their parents or grandparents if childhood obesity rates are not revised. Realizing the impact on our communities, WellSpan Health developed and implemented its coordinated, multi-faceted Growing Healthy prevention strategy to promote healthy eating and physical activity in York and Adams counties. Growing Healthy consists of four priority areas—communities, early childhood sites, health care settings, and schools—and is aligned with national recommendations to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity.
Numerous barriers—such as culture, education, income, language, race and ethnicity, and lack of insurance—often make it difficult for individuals to obtain needed health care services. By identifying and reducing these barriers, WellSpan Health is committed to meeting health care needs by offering preventative health screenings in the community, empowering people to understand and make healthy behavior change, and connecting individuals and families to a medical home.
According to the National Cancer Institute, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. For some, though, quitting tobacco use can be one of the most difficult achievements of their lives. As a partner in your health, WellSpan offers many options for tobacco cessation, from classes and counseling, to self-guided programs created to fit your schedule. If you are interested in quitting, WellSpan Health provides the resources, education and extra push to make that goal—and a healthier you—a reality.
Opioid abuse and heroin use have affected and ended numerous lives throughout the U.S. To combat the opioid crisis in south central Pennsylvania, WellSpan is working to do its part to reduce drug addiction and overdoses in the communities we serve.
