UChicago Medicine reveals first health needs assessment for Northwest Indiana

The University of Chicago Medicine Northwest Indiana has released its first Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), along with a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), the result of a 12-month process that engaged more than 700 residents and stakeholders across its Northwest Indiana service area.

Developed in collaboration with local partners and informed directly by residents, the data-driven CHNAs and their accompanying improvement plans are produced every three years across UChicago Medicine's service areas, outlining priority areas and actionable strategies to address them.

“The people we serve understand their community's health better than anyone, and through this assessment, their voices are helping to shape where we invest and how we build partnerships,” said Krista Curell, JD, RN, University of Chicago Medical Center Hyde Park and UChicago Crown Point President, Executive Vice President and System Chief Operating Officer. “With our growing presence in Northwest Indiana, this work is how we make sure our resources follow our neighbors' most urgent needs.”

The assessment drew on the same nationally established methodology the current vendor has used across communities nationwide since the early 1990s, giving Northwest Indiana a clear starting point for addressing the region's most pressing health needs. Residents span across 20 ZIP codes of the service area in Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Hobart and Merrillville. Participants were surveyed and interviewed between September and November 2025.

Key findings

In addition to outlining areas of opportunity to eliminate barriers to accessing healthcare, the assessment identified cancer (particularly female breast cancer and colorectal cancer), heart disease and stroke as some of the leading causes of death in the region. It also found that issues related to nutrition, physical activity and weight play major roles in the health of community populations.

While these were not the only health needs identified in the assessment, the areas of opportunity were prioritized by healthcare providers and leaders from community-based organizations.

According to the findings, 14.6% of people living in the service area are in poverty, and 37.9% are food insecure – both rates slightly higher than the national average, with communities such as Gary and Hammond disproportionately affected.

A path forward

Every CHNA includes a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to address the concerns identified in the assessment. The three key goals in the UChicago Medicine Northwest Indiana CHIP are to:

• Improve cancer-related outcomes by strengthening prevention, increasing awareness, supporting early detection, and reducing barriers to screening, follow-up and treatment.
• Reduce the burden of heart disease and stroke by supporting prevention, risk reduction, education and connection to care.
• Promote healthier eating, increased physical activity and a healthier weight across the community through education, partnership and supportive community-based strategies.

“The people of Northwest Indiana shared their top health concerns, and now we're bringing the expertise of an academic health system to the priorities this community named for itself,” said Catina Latham, PhD, Senior Vice President, Chief Community Health Transformation Officer for UChicago Medicine. “This Community Health Needs Assessment is a strong first step. The work now is to turn it into care, programs and partnerships that reach people where they are most needed.”

UChicago Medicine Northwest Indiana is the health system’s newest community benefit service area, and it is releasing its Community Health Needs Assessment for the first time. UChicago Medicine’s other Community Health Needs Assessments include:

• University of Chicago Medical Center CHNA

• UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial CHNA