From assessment to action. A hospital-community coalition provides needed services to children.

In December 1991 St. Mary Hospital, Port Arthur, TX, began a three-phase procedure to provide underserved persons in the community better access to care. The process began with a community needs assessment, after which St. Mary developed a hospital-community coalition to plan and implement programs to address identified needs. The needs assessment revealed two underserved populations: racial and ethnic minorities, and youth in two separate categories (below five years old, and from five to the teen years). The top needs were for greater access to healthcare and an increase in primary care services. Having determined that St. Mary Hospital was better equipped to address the lack of primary care, the needs assessment team forged a coalition with community leaders and providers. Collaborative efforts led to the opening of three primary care clinics for children in 1993. The hospital also participated in a task force that identified and alerted the parents of more than 3,800 Port Arthur children in need of Early and Periodic Screening and Developmental Testing. St. Mary is currently working on a plan to contact the family of every Port Arthur child at the age of three months to ensure immunizations are current and a relationship has been established with a healthcare provider.