Wake County releases 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment; keeps priorities on access to care, housing and mental health

Wake County Health Director Rebecca Kaufman presented the county’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment to the Board of Commissioners on July 7 and said the county will keep the same three priority areas identified in the prior assessment: access to health care, affordable housing and homelessness, and mental health.

CHNA requirement and scope: Kaufman explained the CHNA is required of local health departments, tax-exempt hospitals, federally qualified health centers and United Way agencies and is conducted every three years to identify community health status, concerns and resources. For this cycle Wake County collected 1,191 survey responses and engaged more than 60 local agencies on its steering committee, Kaufman said.

Work underway and partnerships: The county is leading the process through its Live Well Wake partnership. Kaufman noted a community health worker consortium now meets quarterly to share resources among community health workers across local agencies and that the housing and homelessness group is being led by the county’s housing director, Morgan Manza. She said the mental health group has focused on recruiting providers and hosted public events, including one at Dix Park.

Next steps: Kaufman said the county will publicly release the CHNA report and accompanying materials this week, and begin a community health improvement plan (CHIP) process in late August. Marcellus Allison, Live Well Wake program manager, said the CHIP kickoff is tentatively planned for Aug. 25 and the county will provide both full reports and executive summaries to partners and the board.

Reception: Commissioners praised the engagement methods and asked for clarification on next steps. Commissioner Vicky Adamson asked about awards for the county’s work; Kaufman said the 2022 CHNA received recognition from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and that the team will present this work at a national conference later this month.

What’s next: staff will distribute digital copies and can provide printed reports on request; work groups will meet in August–October to define concrete strategies for the CHIP.