WRI and Inspira Health Release Community Health Needs Assessment Report for 2025-2027
April 30, 2025
The Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs (WRI) at Rutgers–Camden is proud to release the 2025-2027 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), covering Inspira Health’s service region of Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties. The CHNA, conducted by WRI at Rutgers–Camden in collaboration with Inspira Health, provides a detailed regional overview of health-related needs, assets, and barriers across these three Southern New Jersey counties. Separate reports with detailed findings specific to each county are also available. The findings offer actionable community insights and recommendations at the regional and county levels that will guide efforts to inform and improve community health.
To ensure that community voice was at the core of the assessment, WRI engaged in multiple methods to hear from community members and key regional and county stakeholders. WRI researchers conducted 27 focus groups with over 230 participants, 18 individual interviews, and gathered survey responses from 665 people across Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties between May 2024 and September 2024.
The CHNA highlights key assets within the tri-county region, including the many strong programs, partnerships, and collaborations between regional health institutions, health departments, non-profit organizations, and related organizations that are geared toward preventative care and address the social determinants of health. Residents cited efforts focused on food security, substance use, infant and maternal mortality, and vaccines as a significant asset for the region.
The report also identifies community-reported regional barriers and needs. The rising cost of living presents challenges in meeting basic needs like food, transportation, and rent. Residents responded that meeting basic needs often took precedence over meeting specific health care needs. Additionally, the cost and availability of healthcare remain concerns for the three counties as the high cost of medical expenses, prescriptions, and insurance coverage gaps created barriers to care. Costs were also not always incurred at the point of care but often happened in the process of making time to get and travel to care via transportation costs, childcare, and unpaid time off from work.
Residents also spoke of challenges sustaining access to care. The prevalence of chronic illnesses across the region – with residents reporting cardiovascular-related issues, high blood pressure, substance use, chronic pain, and mental health issues, among others – underscores the need for preventative and follow-up care across physical and mental health conditions. Community members also expressed a need for spaces where adults and youth can come to gather and connect. Across all counties, data spoke to a desire for generating connections and gathering in safe, and well-resourced community spaces.
The report emphasizes that the barriers residents face are often intertwined and connected with one another due to missing or underdeveloped infrastructure. Data spoke to the many unique challenges faced by rural communities, including attracting people to work, live, and play in Southern New Jersey’s most rural areas, as well as barriers to obtain and sustain funding for programs, staffing needs, and specialized staff, among others.
“Community Health Needs Assessments are blueprints for action in both understanding and addressing community needs,” emphasized Devon Ziminski, Senior Project Research Administrator at WRI and lead researcher on this project. “The insights from this CHNA provide critical community perspectives and information needed for Inspira and other community practitioners to develop targeted interventions and programs that address the specific needs of residents, ultimately improving health outcomes and quality of life – especially in Southern New Jersey’s most rural counties.”
To address these issues, community participants shared solutions and recommendations. These include, but are not limited to, co-locating service delivery and embedding more direct services and programming within the community, encouraging health care and local organizations to advocate for more regional funding, continuing to maintain, build, and invest in critical partnerships, and attracting and maintaining health care workforce in the tri-county region.
The community input gathered through the CHNA is invaluable,” said Warren E. Moore, executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer of Inspira Health. “And by partnering with the Walter Rand Institute we are able to develop actionable steps to address barriers identified by the survey that impact the health and well-being of residents in our service region. WRI’s public policy expertise complements Inspira’s deep commitment and understanding of the communities we serve.”
About the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs
The Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs (WRI) at Rutgers–Camden has been a long-standing and trusted regional community partner for over 25 years. WRI honors former Senator Rand’s dedication to Southern New Jersey and exists to produce and highlight community-focused research and evaluation leading to sound public policy and practice in the region. With that as a foundation, WRI convenes and engages stakeholders in making the connections across research, policy, and practice in support of Camden City and Southern New Jersey residents. Using social science research methods, WRI specializes in transforming data into actionable information across a variety of areas, including workforce development, education, transportation, and public/population health. WRI reinforces and amplifies Rutgers’ research, teaching, and service goals by connecting the multidisciplinary expertise of faculty to regional problems, developing research and professional skills in students, and linking the resources of higher education to communities in Southern New Jersey.
About Inspira Health
Inspira Health is a charitable nonprofit health care organization and a regional leader in physician training, with approximately 283 medical residents and fellows in 16 nationally accredited programs. The system traces its roots to 1899 and comprises four medical centers, two comprehensive cancer centers, nine multi-specialty health centers, and locations throughout South Jersey. These include urgent care; outpatient imaging and rehabilitation; sleep medicine labs; cardiac testing facilities; behavioral health, digestive health and wound care centers; home care and hospice; and more than 35 primary and specialty physician practices in Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem, Camden and Atlantic counties. Additionally, Inspira EMS services six South Jersey counties. Inspira’s 1,200-member medical staff and more than 8,000 employees provide an unwavering commitment to delivering a superior patient experience at every point of the journey. Technology and innovation investments provide a robust provider directory and a range of services, including online scheduling and virtual visits for both primary and specialty care providers. With a commitment to multi-channel digital access, Inspira is able to meet consumer demand for self-service and personalized care options. Accredited by DNV Healthcare and committed to the principles of high reliability, Inspira Health is focused on clinical excellence and patient safety. For more information about Inspira Health, visit https://www.InspiraHealthNetwork.org or call 1-800-INSPIRA.