Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics Seeks Community Input on Wright County Health Priorities

By Nikki Johnson (Foss) (Wright County Independent)

Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics and Wright County Public Health are working to turn local health data into community action.

The two organizations recently co-sponsored a community health assessment and improvement planning session, inviting Wright County residents, school representatives, economic development leaders, hospital staff and community-based organizations to review local health data and discuss what they are seeing in their own communities.

Virginia Tonelli, director of rural advocacy for Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics, said the hospital completes a community health assessment every three years. This year, she said, Iowa Specialty wanted to make the process more community-driven.

“We collected our data last fall and really wanted to present the data to the community and say, "What are you seeing as people who live here?” Tonelli said.

About 20 people attended the first session, which Tonelli said was encouraging for a first-time effort.

Tonelli said the session was open to anyone. Information was shared through social media, the Clarion Wire and other community channels, and participants were encouraged to invite others who might have insight into local needs.

Those who attended discussed several health-related concerns, including mental health, chronic disease management, affordable housing, transportation and access to healthy foods. Tonelli said the conversation also helped identify existing community work that could be supported rather than duplicated.

Affordable housing, for example, is already being addressed by others in Wright County, she said.

“We don’t want to duplicate those efforts,” Tonelli said. “We want to amplify those efforts.”

That same idea came up during discussion of food access. Tonelli said she learned through the session that Clarion has a community fridge through Wright Community Connections, creating an opportunity for the hospital and others to help promote or support an existing resource rather than start something separate.

Transportation was another concern identified through the assessment process. Tonelli said participants discussed transportation needs in the county and the importance of sustaining programs that help residents get where they need to go.

The session also brought attention to mental health, including the stigma that can prevent people from seeking care.

Tonelli said mental health continues to come up as a concern, but the discussion showed that the issue is not only about whether services exist. It is also about why some people may feel uncomfortable asking for help or talking about mental health.

She said recognizing stigma is an important first step.

“Everybody seemed to agree that there is stigma around mental health,” Tonelli said. “We talked about what is really causing that stigma, why people feel that stigma, and what are some things we can do to help break down those barriers?”

The broader goal, she said, is to look at health beyond doctor visits or hospital care.

“It’s not just about mental health, it’s not about physical health,” Tonelli said. “It’s that whole picture, that whole person health.”

Tonelli said the assessment identified six action areas, and hospital leaders are now working through how to move forward in a realistic and meaningful way. That may mean addressing all six areas or choosing fewer areas where stronger progress can be made.

The next step is to begin forming work groups around the impact areas. During the session, participants were asked whether they would be willing to serve on groups connected to specific topics. Those groups will help identify goals and decide what can be measured over the next three years.

“The next step is in June, our team at the hospital will get those folks together that expressed interest and say, what goals do you want to work towards?” Tonelli said. “What can we measure in the next three years to say that we were successful?”

The hospital will continue to support the process by hosting meetings, helping define metrics, making connections and serving on work groups, Tonelli said. However, she said the goal is for the work to be community-driven, not just directed by the hospital and public health department.

“We’re there to support, but we want to include more people so it’s not just the public health department and the hospital.” Tonelli said. 

Tonelli said one of the biggest benefits of the session was simply giving people a space to talk openly about local needs and resources.

“What I think we learned was that people don’t come together in a community space and talk about things like that,” she said. “There’s not necessarily an open forum.”

She said Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics wants the hospital to be seen not only as a place for health care appointments, but also as a place where community members feel comfortable gathering and sharing ideas.

More community health assessment and improvement planning work will continue over the next three years. Tonelli said another broader community session is expected in fall 2026.

Residents who were unable to attend the first meeting can still participate in future conversations or work groups.

Tonelli said she hopes people understand that local change is possible when residents choose to get involved.

“We all have influence,” Tonelli said. “The world feels really big at times, but we have so much more influence and control and ability to change things on a smaller local level than we realize.”

She said showing up for community conversations is one way residents can help shape Wright County’s future.

“Showing up for things like this is so vitally important to make those changes in your community, to make it a place where you want to live, where your kids want to live,” Tonelli said.