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March 2019Implementation Strategy Plan ReportEast Jefferson General Hospital

East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)2

Table of ContentsOur Mission . 4Our Vision . 4Introduction . 5Addressing Community Health Needs . 7Prioritizing Community Health Needs . 8Community Definition . 9Methodology . 12Key Community Health Priority 1: Education . 13Key Community Health Priority 2: Behavioral Health . 16Key Community Health Priority 3: Access to Care . 19Conclusion . 24Endnotes . 25East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)3

Our MissionEast Jefferson General Hospital, community owned, provides the highest quality,compassionate healthcare to the people we serve.Our VisionEast Jefferson General Hospital will be the region’s healthcare leader providing the highestquality care through innovation and collaboration with our team members, medical staff,and community.East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)4

IntroductionOpening on Valentine's Day, 1971, East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)started as a 250-bed facility with almost 250 physicians serving the newlyburgeoning suburbs of Jefferson Parish. Today, EJGH stands as a state-of-theart hospital with more than 420 beds. Still a community hospital with a boardcomprised of representatives throughout the community, EJGH’s patients areserved by a staff of more than 3,000 team members and more than 650physicians.East Jefferson General Hospital, through the generosity of the EJGHFoundation and its supporters, has grown over the past three decades tobecome a medical landmark with the addition of medical office buildings, theYenni Treatment Center for outpatient cancer treatment, and the DominoPavilion, which houses same day surgery, outpatient laboratory, andoutpatient radiology services. Most recently, the Wellness Center, a 38,000square foot, state-of-the-art fitness facility and the East Jefferson ImagingCenter, were added to the hospital's outreach. East Jefferson GeneralHospital has grown with the East Bank community, offering the clinicalexpertise and cutting-edge technology our community expects and deserves.The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which went intoeffect on March 23, 2010, requires tax-exempt hospitals to conductcommunity health needs assessments (CHNA) and implementation strategiesin order to improve the health and well-being being of residents within thecommunities served by the hospital(s). These strategies created by hospitalsand institutions consist of programs, activities, and plans that are specificallytargeted towards populations within the community. The execution of theimplementation strategy plan is designed to increase and track the impact ofeach hospitals’ efforts.East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)Tripp Umbach was contracted by Metropolitan Hospital Council of NewOrleans (MHCNO) to conduct a CHNA for East Jefferson General Hospital,LCMC Health, Ochsner Health System, Tulane Health System, Slidell MemorialHospital, and St. Tammany Parish Hospital. The overall CHNA involvedmultiple steps that are depicted in Chart 1.The CHNA process undertaken by East Jefferson General Hospital, along withLCMC Health, Tulane Health System, Ochsner Health System, Slidell MemorialHospital, and St. Tammany Parish Hospital, with project management andconsultation by Tripp Umbach, included input from representatives whorepresent the broad interests of the community served by the hospitalfacilities, including those with special knowledge of public health issues, datarelated to underserved, hard-to-reach, vulnerable populations, andrepresentatives of vulnerable populations served by each hospital. TrippUmbach worked closely with Working Group members to oversee andaccomplish the assessment and its goals. This report fulfills the requirementsof the Internal Revenue Code 501(r)(3), established within the PatientProtection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requiring that nonprofithospitals conduct CHNAs every three years.Data from government and social agencies provides a strong framework anda comprehensive piece to the overall CHNA. The information collected is asnapshot of the health of residents in Southern Louisiana, whichencompassed socioeconomic information, health statistics, demographics,and mental health issues, etc. The CHNA report is a summary of primary andsecondary data collected for East Jefferson General Hospital while theimplementation strategy planning report is a plan for how EJGH will addressthe identified needs from the CHNA over the next 3 years.5

The requirements imposed by the IRS for tax-exempt hospitals and health systems must include the following: Conduct a CHNA every three years. Adopt an implementation strategy to meet the community health needs identified through the assessment. Report how it is addressing the needs identified in the CHNA and a description of needs that are not being addressed, with the reasons why.The Department of the Treasury and the IRS require a CHNA to include:1. A description of the community served by the hospital facilities and how the description was determined.2. A description of the process and methods used to conduct the assessment. A description of the sources and dates of the data and other information used in the assessment and the analytical methods applied to identifycommunity health needs. A description of information gaps that impact the hospital organization’s ability to assess the health needs of the community served by the hospitalfacility. Identification of organizations that collaborated with the hospital and an explanation of their qualifications.3. A description of how the hospital organizations considered input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospitals.In addition, the report must identify any individual providing input that has special knowledge of or expertise in public health. The report must also identifyany individual providing input who is a “leader” or “representative” of populations.4. A prioritized description of all of the community health needs identified through the CHNA, as well as a description of the process and criteria used inprioritizing such health needs.5. A description of the existing health care facilities and other resources within the community available to meet the community health needs identifiedthrough the CHNA.6. A description of the needs identified that the hospital intends to address, the reasons those needs were selected, and the means by which the hospitalwill undertake to address the selected needs.East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)6

Addressing Community Health NeedsIn 2018, East Jefferson General Hospital began a joint process of conducting a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) along with regionalhealth care institutions and organizations in Southern Louisiana. The process connected public and private organizations, such as health and human service entities,government officials, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions to evaluate the needs of the community. The 2018 assessment included primary andsecondary data collection and incorporated a multitude of phases as part of the assessment process. The overall CHNA involved multiple steps that are depictedin the below flow chart.Chart 1: CHNA Process ChartCommunity StakeholderInterviewsPublic CommentaryEvaluation of PreviousCHNA ImplementationStrategy PlanSecondary Data Analysis(Regional Profiles)Community ForumsProvider ResourceInventoryFinal ReportBegin ImplementationStrategy Planning PhaseHealth Provider SurveyWith the conclusion of the CHNA, a regional strategic planning phase was implemented and managed by Tripp Umbach with participation from representatives ofEast Jefferson General Hospital, along with LCMC Health, Tulane Health System, Ochsner Health System, and Slidell Memorial Hospital. The developments andresults from the implementation strategy report is to address the needs identified from East Jefferson General Hospital ‘s community health needs assessmentcompleted in 2018 (i.e., education, behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse), and access to care). East Jefferson Memorial Hospital will track andmonitor strategies and actions internally within the three years prior to the next assessment period.Tripp Umbach worked closely with administrative leadership from East Jefferson General Hospital to complete the implementation strategy planning phasethrough the review of previous strategies and planning actions. The identification of community health priorities helped hospital leaders align needs with bestpractice models and available resources, defined action steps, timelines, and potential partners for each need to develop the accompanying implementationstrategy plan. Hospital strategies and subsequent action steps were recognized to address the health needs identified in the service area.East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)7

Prioritizing Community Health NeedsAccording to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, ahealthy community is “a community that is continuously creating andimproving those physical and social environments and expanding thosecommunity resources that enable people to mutually support each other inperforming all the functions of life and in developing to their maximumpotential.” This idyllic description is for a healthy community that also hasaccess to health services, ample employment opportunities, high-qualityeducation, affordable, clean housing options, and a safe physicalenvironment. The reduction of poor health outcomes and poor healthbehaviors are essential in order to build a healthy community. Collaboration1. EducationEast Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)and teamwork from community groups, health care institutions, governmentleaders, and social and civic organizations can also improve the health statusof a community. Healthy partnerships can lead to building a strongcommunity infrastructure that addresses community health needs andprovides services to prevent and stem preventable diseases.Upon review of all data collected, with feedback from community leaderswho were present at the community forum, and input from internal hospitalleadership, the following needs were identified as the key community healthneeds in the East Jefferson General Hospital ‘s community.2. Behavioral Health (MentalHealth & Substance Abuse)3. Access to Care8

Community DefinitionIn 2018, a comprehensive CHNA was completed for East Jefferson General Hospital. Tripp Umbach has completed three CHNA cycles for the hospital andbenchmarking or trending data was provided to track and observe positive or negative movements in the primary and secondary data (where applicable).A comprehensive CHNA was completed for East Jefferson General Hospital which began in early 2018. The primary service area for EJGH was defined by ZIP codesthat contain a majority of inpatient discharges from the health care facility.In 2018, a total of 16 ZIP codes were identified for East Jefferson General Hospital as being the hospital’s primary service area with 80 percent of inpatientdischarges (See Table 1). Working in partnership and collaboration with local health care institutions, a regional approach with LCMC Health, Ochsner HealthSystem, Tulane Health System, Slidell Memorial Hospital, and St. Tammany’s Hospital was completed due to overlapping service areas. The regional approachincluded a total of 62 ZIP codes (See Table 2). Data was analyzed from these specific ZIP codes as they will assist in future health care planning services, communitybenefit contributions, and programming efforts.Table 1: EJGH Study Area ProfileZIP ersonSt. CharlesJeffersonJeffersonEast Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH)ZIP OrleansOrleansOrleans9