July 31, 2024

Hospital Community Benefit Accountability

Greetings,

The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF), in partnership with the Colorado Health Institute (CHI), would like to announce the publication of the Best Practices in Community Engagement Guide. HCPF requested CHI to explore best practices in hospital engagement with their communities as described in House Bill (HB)23-1243. HCPF and CHI held a stakeholder forum in November 2023 to solicit feedback on best practices, attendees included community-based organizations, advocacy groups, local public health agencies, community health care providers, home and community based service providers, hospitals and hospital systems in Colorado. This guide offers recommendations based on this forum. Stakeholders can utilize this guide as it addresses:

  • Best practices for nonprofit hospitals to conduct community engagement, especially with populations experiencing disproportionate health outcomes.
  • Best practices for avoiding duplication in community needs assessments.

Links to the Best Practices in Community Engagement Guide and a repository of resources shared by stakeholder partners during the November forum are below. 

These resources are also available on HCPF’s community benefit webpage, in the “Resources” section.

HCPF encourages hospitals to utilize the Best Practices in Community Engagement Guide for upcoming community benefit public meetings and implementation plan process for the Community Health Needs Assessments.

For questions or concerns, please reach out to HCPF through the Hospital Community Benefit dedicated email: hcpf_hospitalcommunitybenefit@state.co.us.