Southcoast Health and South Coast Community Health Alliance Identify Most Urgent Healthcare Needs of the South Coast Region

Today, the South Coast Community Health Alliance (SoCHA), a collaboration of nine regional organizations invested in the wellbeing of people in the South Coast region, presented its 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), a comprehensive analysis of the region’s health status and healthcare needs. The CHNA aims to inform future planning and foster cross-sector collaboration to improve the wellbeing of South Coast residents, including historically marginalized and underserved communities.  

The 2025 CHNA is the first-ever developed collaboratively by SoCHA, which was formed in 2024 with Southcoast Health, the Departamento de Sanidad de New Bedford, the Departamento de Salud de Fall River, Child & Family Services, Citizens for Citizens, Inc., People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE), New Bedford Community Health, HealthFirst Family Care Center, Inc., Stanley Street Treatment and Resources (SSTAR), and Saint Anne’s Hospital. Prior to 2025, Southcoast Health developed the CHNA every three years in accordance with federal requirements for not-for-profit hospitals.   

“Collaborating with the other SoCHA members on this year’s CHNA not only resulted in the most robust analysis of our region’s health to date, but has also brought more perspectives to the development of actionable programs to improve quality of life for individuals and families across the South Coast,” said Alison LeBert, Southcoast Health Community Health and Wellness Manager.

2025 CHNA findings address a wide range of determinants of health outcomes, including:

• Rates of serious chronic diseases are significantly higher in Bristol County compared with overall prevalence in Massachusetts: 6.6% vs. 3.38% for coronary heart disease and 7.20% vs. 5.10% for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
• Housing cost burden (defined as spending more than 30% of household income on housing) is a significant issue in the South Coast, with New Bedford and Fall River experiencing the highest rates at 43.64% and 41.08%, compared to the statewide rate of 34.38%.
  
• In 2023, Bristol County’s food insecurity rate was 11.4%, higher than the Massachusetts average of 10.2%, with Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic or Latino residents experiencing rates of 26.0% compared to 12.8% for the overall county population.

About the 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)

The 2025 SoCHA CHNA is designed to support institutions in meeting regulatory and accreditation requirements while advancing collaborative community health improvement efforts in the South Coast region, including Acushnet, Assonet, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Dartmouth, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rochester, Somerset, Swansea, Wareham and Westport.

The assessment serves as the foundation for a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) by systematically identifying the most pressing health needs, disparities, and social determinants affecting a community through data analysis and stakeholder engagement.

The report employed a mixed-methods approach to collecting primary and secondary data:

• Primary data included input from organizational partners and direct-service providers, interviews with experts and community leaders, focus groups with residents, and a community health survey, which was available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, and K’iche’.
  
• Secondary data on health outcomes, health behaviors, and social drivers of health were collected from national, state, and city sources to supplement the primary data and provide a broader context for understanding the community’s health needs.

The predominant themes identified based on the primary and secondary data include: Socio-economic Factors, Housing, Built Environment, Food Access & Security, Access to Care, Behavioral Health, Chronic Disease, Maternal & Child Health and Overall Health.

To view the SoCHA 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, please visit https://www.southcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SoCHA-CHNA-2025.pdf.