Harris Regional Hospital welcomed community leaders and partners today for Healthy Horizons: A Mountain Community Health Summit, a collaborative gathering focused on identifying and addressing the most pressing health challenges in Jackson and Swain counties. The event marked an important milestone in the hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) process and set the stage for the development of implementation strategies that will guide community health efforts over the next three years.

Held on the hospital campus, the summit brought together a broad group of stakeholders from across the region to review data from the most recent CHNA surveys conducted on behalf of both Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. The findings offer a detailed look at the health needs, disparities, and service gaps impacting residents, highlighting critical areas such as chronic disease, access to care, mental health concerns, food insecurity, and other social determinants of health.

“Our goal with Healthy Horizons was to ensure that the voices of our communities were not only heard, but that they help shape the direction of our implementation strategies moving forward,” said Ashley Hindman, CEO of Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. “By bringing together local leaders, we can align efforts and strengthen our impact across the region.”

Attendees included representatives from public health, local government, education, nonprofit organizations, and other essential community sectors. Through guided discussions and breakout sessions, participants helped identify priority focus areas and began exploring collaborative approaches to address them.

“This work is about more than identifying challenges, it’s about building solutions together,” Hindman added. “We’re proud to serve as a catalyst for this important dialogue and look forward to translating today’s conversations into measurable action.”

The CHNA process, conducted every three years, is a vital component of the hospitals’ broader mission of making communities healthier. Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital also remain focused on their shared vision of being places where patients choose to come for care, providers want to practice, and employees want to work.

To learn more about the CHNA process or view the latest reports, visit MyHarrisRegional.com or MySwainCommunity.com.