Bon Secours launches Community Health Improvement Plan

Plan outlines community-driven strategies to improve health outcomes across the Upstate

Bon Secours has launched a new, three-year Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), designed to address the health priorities identified by residents, community organizations and public health leaders across the region.

Developed through the months-long Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) process, the plan reflects feedback from community members and local stakeholders, combined with health data and community trends, to identify the issues having the greatest impact on health and well-being throughout the region.

Over the next three years, Bon Secours will focus its efforts on four priority areas: housing insecurity, food insecurity, mental and behavioral health as well as access to care. The CHNA process highlighted a growing shortage of truly affordable housing in Greenville County and, for the first time in the health system’s CHNA process, identified food insecurity as a critical community issue.

“Addressing food and housing insecurity, mental and behavioral health, and access to care for older adults and under-resourced communities is essential to building a healthier, more resilient Greenville, because every neighbor deserves the stability, dignity and opportunity to thrive,” said Sean Dogan, director of community health, Bon Secours.

The Community Health Improvement Plan outlines strategies and investments across all four priority areas identified by the community. Achieving meaningful progress will require collaboration across the community. Bon Secours will work alongside affordable housing-related organizations, Greenville County and independent recreation centers, local faith communities and nonprofit organizations to align resources, strengthen support networks and improve access to critical social and health services for residents throughout the region.

A key example of how the CHIP is already being put into action is Bon Secours’ participation in the federal Moving to Work program, led locally by the Greenville Housing Authority.

Through the initiative, Bon Secours associates connect participants with partner organizations that aid medical and social determinants of health needs, helping individuals and families move toward greater self-sufficiency. The health system also supports affordable housing through investments in organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

The CHIP for the Bon Secours – Greenville market is one of 11 plans recently launched across Bon Secours Mercy Health. While each plan reflects the unique needs of its local community, all reinforce the ministry’s commitment to improving health outcomes, advancing health equity and addressing the social and economic factors that influence health and well-being.

“Community health is about looking beyond the walls of our hospitals and understanding the factors that shape health in people’s everyday lives,” said Gina Hemenway, system director of Community Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health. “This work challenges us to think differently about how we support our patients, families and communities and to build partnerships that can address barriers to health in meaningful, lasting ways.”

The Community Health Improvement Plan for Bon Secours is available at: https://www.bonsecours.com/about-us/community-commitment/community-health-needs-assessment(opens in new tab)