United Way of Bradley County
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This summer, residents of Bradley County were asked to participate in
an assessment to help pinpoint what they feel are the current
community needs, and if these needs are being adequately addressed.
The Community Needs Assessment was developed by Drs. Rodney
Fitzgerald and David Watts following meetings with many service
providers in the area, and was conducted by United Way of Bradley
County.
Results from the assessment, conducted from May 1 through June
14, have been compiled and are being released on the United Way of
Bradley County website.
“The Community Needs Assessment (CNA) provides a broad
brushstroke of perceptions of current community needs as reported
by those completing the assessment,” explained Dr. Fitzgerald. “The
CNA was only designed to reflect perceptions of community-wide
need, and was not intended to reflect individual or personal needs of
respondents.”
With that task in mind, a series of 40-plus questions were included in
the assessment. They were separated into five different categories:
education, income, health, veterans’ services and services to the
elderly.
an assessment to help pinpoint what they feel are the current
community needs, and if these needs are being adequately addressed.
The Community Needs Assessment was developed by Drs. Rodney
Fitzgerald and David Watts following meetings with many service
providers in the area, and was conducted by United Way of Bradley
County.
Results from the assessment, conducted from May 1 through June
14, have been compiled and are being released on the United Way of
Bradley County website.
“The Community Needs Assessment (CNA) provides a broad
brushstroke of perceptions of current community needs as reported
by those completing the assessment,” explained Dr. Fitzgerald. “The
CNA was only designed to reflect perceptions of community-wide
need, and was not intended to reflect individual or personal needs of
respondents.”
With that task in mind, a series of 40-plus questions were included in
the assessment. They were separated into five different categories:
education, income, health, veterans’ services and services to the
elderly.
2010 Community Needs Assessment
Respondents were asked to assess areas within these categories as: very important unmet need,
somewhat important unmet need, important unmet need, need is adequately met or no opinion/don’t
know.
A total of 889 completed assessment instruments were received during the reporting period, 732 of
which were done online.
“We feel that this still gives us a broad view of what the residents here feel are needs for the
community,” Dr. Fitzgerald continued. “We are pleased that so many took the time to complete the
assessment.”
Seven of the top ten responses by percentage of respondents listing the item as “very important
unmet need” were in the category of health. The top-rated item across all responses was “affordable
basic health care for adults with limited income.”
The top two “Very Important Unmet Needs” in the Five Categories were:
Education
• Education for parents to help prepare their child to enter school
• Quality Day-Care programs to help children develop behaviors needed to enter school
Income
• Job skills training
• Finding a job or a better job
Health
• Mental health and counseling services for those without insurance or unable to pay
• Nutritious foods including fresh fruits and vegetables either free or at reduced cost for people
with limited income
Veterans
• Mental health services for veterans with limited income
• Shelter for homeless veterans
Elderly
• Affordable health services for the elderly with limited income
• In-home care services for the elderly
“We are pleased to say that even before the assessment had been developed and published for
participation by the community, we were already addressing some of these issues through grants
made through the Bradley Memorial Health Endowment Fund,” Dr. Fitzgerald said.
Dr. Watts said that a benefit of this assessment is that it is a tool that can be used in later years with
very little revision.
“When you see a trend in what the community may feel is a need that is being unmet, then you will
see the true benefits of this,” he said. Dr. Watts had emphasized during the creation of the
assessment that it needed to be one that could be a template for future assessments.
“The assessment must be a reasonable process that produces useful supporting data while
recognizing that it will need to be replicated frequently to best reflect changing community needs,
perhaps every two or three years,” Dr. Watts added.
The two doctors added that while the assessment was designed to find out the public’s perception of
unmet needs, another benefit of the assessment is that it will help service providers upgrade the
services they offer, if necessary.
“Plus, it will be very helpful as organizations in our community begin to apply for grants, either
through the Bradley Memorial Health Endowment Fund or other sources,” Dr. Fitzgerald noted.
The assessment was conducted through an online service (Survey Monkey) that allows information to
be cross-tabulated, according to Matt Ryerson, United Way of Bradley County Vice President of
Community Investment Strategies. Thus, since many of the questions were demographic in nature,
Ryerson said that it will be possible, for example, to see what is the most important unmet need to
the respondents who are in the 26 to 40 years of age category who have some high school
education, are self-employed, and live in the 37311 zip code.
“If anyone needs this specific type of information, they may contact me at the United Way office and I
will cross-reference that information for them,” Ryerson said.
United Way of Bradley County President and CEO Brenda Abel expressed her thanks to Drs.
Fitzgerald and Watts for their diligent work on the needs assessment.
“Rodney and David began this process very early this year, and today, we are able to release the
information they gathered through the assessment,” she said. “They put many hours of work into
this project, and we know that it will benefit not only United Way, but everyone as we continue to
look at meeting the needs in our community.”
somewhat important unmet need, important unmet need, need is adequately met or no opinion/don’t
know.
A total of 889 completed assessment instruments were received during the reporting period, 732 of
which were done online.
“We feel that this still gives us a broad view of what the residents here feel are needs for the
community,” Dr. Fitzgerald continued. “We are pleased that so many took the time to complete the
assessment.”
Seven of the top ten responses by percentage of respondents listing the item as “very important
unmet need” were in the category of health. The top-rated item across all responses was “affordable
basic health care for adults with limited income.”
The top two “Very Important Unmet Needs” in the Five Categories were:
Education
• Education for parents to help prepare their child to enter school
• Quality Day-Care programs to help children develop behaviors needed to enter school
Income
• Job skills training
• Finding a job or a better job
Health
• Mental health and counseling services for those without insurance or unable to pay
• Nutritious foods including fresh fruits and vegetables either free or at reduced cost for people
with limited income
Veterans
• Mental health services for veterans with limited income
• Shelter for homeless veterans
Elderly
• Affordable health services for the elderly with limited income
• In-home care services for the elderly
“We are pleased to say that even before the assessment had been developed and published for
participation by the community, we were already addressing some of these issues through grants
made through the Bradley Memorial Health Endowment Fund,” Dr. Fitzgerald said.
Dr. Watts said that a benefit of this assessment is that it is a tool that can be used in later years with
very little revision.
“When you see a trend in what the community may feel is a need that is being unmet, then you will
see the true benefits of this,” he said. Dr. Watts had emphasized during the creation of the
assessment that it needed to be one that could be a template for future assessments.
“The assessment must be a reasonable process that produces useful supporting data while
recognizing that it will need to be replicated frequently to best reflect changing community needs,
perhaps every two or three years,” Dr. Watts added.
The two doctors added that while the assessment was designed to find out the public’s perception of
unmet needs, another benefit of the assessment is that it will help service providers upgrade the
services they offer, if necessary.
“Plus, it will be very helpful as organizations in our community begin to apply for grants, either
through the Bradley Memorial Health Endowment Fund or other sources,” Dr. Fitzgerald noted.
The assessment was conducted through an online service (Survey Monkey) that allows information to
be cross-tabulated, according to Matt Ryerson, United Way of Bradley County Vice President of
Community Investment Strategies. Thus, since many of the questions were demographic in nature,
Ryerson said that it will be possible, for example, to see what is the most important unmet need to
the respondents who are in the 26 to 40 years of age category who have some high school
education, are self-employed, and live in the 37311 zip code.
“If anyone needs this specific type of information, they may contact me at the United Way office and I
will cross-reference that information for them,” Ryerson said.
United Way of Bradley County President and CEO Brenda Abel expressed her thanks to Drs.
Fitzgerald and Watts for their diligent work on the needs assessment.
“Rodney and David began this process very early this year, and today, we are able to release the
information they gathered through the assessment,” she said. “They put many hours of work into
this project, and we know that it will benefit not only United Way, but everyone as we continue to
look at meeting the needs in our community.”