Writer / Janelle Morrison
Photographer / JJ Kaplan
Once again, the vision of Hamilton County resident and trailblazer, Nancy Chance, founder and executive director of the Good Samaritan Network (GSN), has led to the rollout of an unprecedented collaboration of GSN, five major area hospitals and relative area agencies to create the Partnership for a Healthier Hamilton County (PHHC).
As charitable tax-exempt organizations, not-for-profit hospitals are required to provide community benefits, and since 2012, each facility must complete a Community Health Needs Assessment every three years. This assessment must take into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community; include input from persons with special knowledge or expertise in public health and they must be made widely available to the public. The PHHC partnering hospitals include Community Health, I.U. Health, Riverview, St.Vincent Health and St. Francis Health. In conjunction with the hospitals and GSN, agencies such as Aspire Indiana, the YMCA of Central Indiana and Fishers, the Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program and WestLink Consulting have created a PHHC advisory council. Their mission is to collaborate across all sectors of the community to advocate for and implement strategies that help to improve the health of residents where they live, work, play and learn.
