What are the opportunities and challenges when it comes to affordable and accessible quality healthcare in the Southcoast? A group of regional health care agencies has released a report with its latest assessment.
The South Coast Community Health Alliance (SoCHA) was formed in 2024 and represents nine non-profit and governmental health organizations across Southeastern Massachusetts. The alliance worked collaboratively with Southcoast Health, which owns Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, to complete its triennial health needs assessment.
The report identifies nine health themes of importance to the Southcoast:
- Socio-Economic Factors
- Housing
- Built Environment
- Food Access & Security
- Access to Care
- Behavioral Health
- Chronic Disease
- Maternal & Child Health
- Overall Health
While many of the themes have been of concern for many years, there was an opportunity to expand the scope of some of them.
Saint Anne’s Hospital, owned by Brown University Health, although not officially part of the alliance, allowed members to share data collected from its needs assessment conducted last spring.
Saint Anne’s is likely to join the alliance when both hospital groups complete their next needs assessments in 2028.
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