Each household who completes the survey will receive $10 in Chamber Checks to either Arkansas City or Winfield. Chamber Checks are issued by the area chambers of commerce. They can be used in place of cash at participating local businesses.

After you complete your survey, a verification screen will appear. Either snap a screenshot of your household's code or write it down.

To get $10 in Winfield Chamber Checks, take your voucher code to one of these locations by May 31, 2024: Burden City Hall, City-Cowley County Health Department-Winfield Office, Udall Public Library, Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce, or Winfield Public Library. Chamber Checks may be used at participating local businesses.
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To get $10 in Arkansas City Chamber Checks, take your voucher code to one of these locations by May 31, 2024: Arkansas City Area Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas City Public Library, City-Cowley County Health Department-Arkansas City Office, or Dexter School (by May 16, use front entrance, ask for Yvonne). Chamber Checks may be used at participating local businesses.

A Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) evaluates the health needs of our community, identifying needs, gaps, assets, and resources as they relate to the community's overall well-being. A CHNA’s role is to identify factors that affect the health of a population and determine the availability of resources to adequately address those factors. The results are then used to plan, manage, and evaluate community health initiatives. This year brings the fifth cycle for the CHNA in Cowley County. Access to prior Cowley County CHNAs can be found on the William Newton Hospital website: www.wnhcares.org

+ Determine trends and issues in the community
+ Understand and assess knowledge of current health & wellness resources and needs for additional or different health & wellness resources.
+ Meet Federal requirements for the hospital, county health department, and county behavioral health services
+ Leverage data collected to generate support for change by identifying strengths and gaps of interest to policymakers and the general public
+ Gather meaningful data to help secure grant funding for our service area
+ Expand resident engagement and understanding (beyond key stakeholders) in the process by utilizing a community-engaged approach and engaging with populations of focus within our community
+ Include a collection of social determinants of health data in the survey
+ Build a stronger connection between key stakeholders within the service area to better align long-term planning initiatives to improve community health outcomes

The Community Perception Survey (CPS) is the community feedback (quantitative primary research) portion of the CHNA. The countywide CPS asks residents to indicate what health/wellness resources they think or know are available and resources that are not perceived to be available but are wanted.

The goal is one survey completed from 65% of households in Cowley County (8,509). The survey will be available on paper, with trained community volunteers facilitating completion, as well as online.

Incentives are offered for participation! $10 in Chamber Bucks will be awarded to the first 3,500 households. 

In addition to the CPS, eight focus groups (qualitative primary research) will be held in the summer 2024 centered around healthcare, public health, worksites, early childcare & education, schools, faith communities, K-State Research & Extension, and the community environment.

This research study opportunity was presented at the Radcliff Lecture Series on Rural Health, hosted in the fall of 2023 in conjunction with William Newton Healthcare Foundation’s Beats Go On community wellness initiative. Speaker Benjamin Anderson, MBA, MHCDS, shared how collecting comprehensive and widespread data connected to health and wellness resources can create positive change within a community. Judy Johnston, MS, RD, LD, Research Instructor for the Department of Population Health, and her associates at the University of Kansas School of Medicine – Wichita identified Cowley County as the 12th and final rural Kansas community for its study. 

The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems based on the results of CHNA activities and the community health improvement process.