Community Health Needs Assessment & Implementation Plan

Every three years not-for-profit hospitals are required to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) of the local populations they serve.

Our goal in conducting the assessment was to better understand the health status, behaviors, and needs of children and adolescents in South Florida so that we as a community – patients, families, Nicklaus Children’s, and partner organizations – can optimally support their health and wellbeing. Information on both the CHNA and Implementation Plan can be found below.

Implementation Plan Goals

Access to Community and Health Services

  • Enhance access to timely, equitable and comprehensive medical, social, behavioral health and wellness services for children and their families in traditional and non-traditional settings.
    • Increase care coordination and collaboration within the intersecting systems of health, social and community services (collaborators) through the development of collaborations.
    • Continue to enhance hospital care coordination through new strategies that address culture, language, etc.
    • Increase utilization of primary care and social service systems.

Health Education

  • Empower parents and children to lead healthy lifestyles by providing culturally, linguistically, and developmentally tailored education and resources.
    • Increase awareness of preventative primary care, and knowledge and utilization of appropriate levels of care, through educational campaigns and messages.
    • Increase points of distribution for nutrition education materials and resources in each of The Children's Trust defined priority zip codes.
    • Promote community understanding of comprehensive health and safety through the implementation of community initiatives.

Children’s Mental Health

  • Promote overall mental wellness of children and adolescents by engaging an ecosystem of support and services for them and their families.
    • Implement mental wellness initiatives for children and youth.
    • Expand intervention services across the ecosystem for children and their families through collaborative initiatives.
    • Increase skills and capacity throughout the ecosystem to respond to mental health crisis among children and youth through training opportunities.

Previous Reports