Essentia Health partners with local groups to identify community health needs and drive improvements in Sandstone

Essentia Health’s mission is to make a healthy difference in people’s lives, and that work extends beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinics.

Just like patients, each community has unique needs. To determine priorities, Essentia conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) every three years in each community that is home to one of its 14 hospitals. Town hall meetings, focus groups and surveys are among the ways Essentia collects information on what is important to people and what gaps we can help to address.

Sandstone is one of the 14 communities surveyed by Essentia. 

Our most recent CHNA identified the following needs for the Essentia Health-Sandstone service area:

• Social drivers of health: Essentia plans to operate a Community Health Worker Program, administer a community resource directory called “Resourceful” and support organizations through a Community Grants program.
• Nutrition and movement: Essentia plans to partner with area school districts on nutrition education programs and to support enhancements to the City of Sandstone’s Herbert Almont Johnson Memorial Park.
• Injury prevention: Essentia plans to partner with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to educate area high school students about safe driver and passenger behaviors.

“Essentia Health is a wonderful asset to our community, and I am excited to have Essentia’s community health department as a partner to work with to help improve Johnson Park for the entire community,” said Karry White, Sandstone’s deputy clerk. “As a member of the Sandstone Park and Recreation Commission, I have found that when you give people of the community and visitors alike new and improved places, it helps to motivate them to be more active by just taking the time to see and use the assets available to them.”

The key to gathering accurate data is to get input from a wide range of community members, particularly those who are medically underserved and those in minority groups. The information helps health systems decide how to make the greatest impact and which areas to focus on.

For example, after our last CHNA in 2022, we focused on the following priority areas for this  service area:

• Mental and social well-being: Essentia advanced mental and social well-being by partnering with local organizations to improve community health through the Blue Zones framework and school-based wellness initiatives. These efforts focused on increasing access to healthy food, promoting physical activity and enhancing outdoor learning environments. Support also included funding for a new toddler playground, expanding access to safe recreational spaces.
• Food security: Essentia supported youth nutrition and food education through its partnership with East Central School District, integrating garden-grown produce into school meals. The organization also helped connect residents to healthy food by supporting community meal programs. These efforts continued in subsequent years with ongoing promotion of healthy eating habits among students.
• Resourceful: Resourceful is a publicly available community resource directory, designed to connect individuals with free and reduced-cost services. Since its launch in 2021 more than 4,500 programs have been added to the resource directory and over 32,000 individuals have used the directory. Resourceful has facilitated more than 25,000 referrals to community-based organizations.

"At Essentia, our commitment to the communities we serve is at the heart of everything we do,” said Emily Kuenstler, Essentia’s community health director. “We believe that true health care extends far beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinics—it's about partnering with local organizations, listening to diverse voices and addressing the unique needs that impact well-being every day. By conducting regular Community Health Needs Assessments and investing in programs that promote nutrition, physical activity and access to resources, we're dedicated to making a lasting, positive difference in people's lives."