| Course | AMT2 Service Line Development |
|---|---|
| Task | Task 2 |
| Paper type | Community health needs service plan |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 |
| School | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Program | BS Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for AMT2 Task 2
Reading the Needs Assessment for the Heart, the Lungs and the Joints: Risk Factors, Unmet Needs and a Plan for a Composite Hospital's Community
Student Name
Leavitt School of Health, Western Governors University
AMT2: Service Line Development, Task 2
Course Instructor
Month Day, Year
Reading the Needs Assessment for the Heart, the Lungs and the Joints: Risk Factors, Unmet Needs and a Plan for a Composite Hospital's Community
The Community Health Needs Assessment
Summit Valley Regional Medical Center completed its community health needs assessment last spring, as charitable hospitals must do at least once every three years along with a strategy to meet the needs identified (Internal Revenue Service, n.d.). The assessment combined county estimates from national surveys, hospital utilization data, interviews with 40 physicians and community leaders, and six community focus groups. Summit Valley County has about 180,000 residents, a median age four years older than the state's and a fast-growing population in its southern townships. This paper delineates the risk factors the assessment found for cardiovascular disease, cancer and musculoskeletal conditions, judges whether the hospital is meeting those needs and sets out a plan for the gaps.
Risk Factors in the Community
The table compares key county risk factors with state figures from the assessment.
| Risk factor | County | State | Related service lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults who currently smoke | 19% | 14% | Cardiovascular, oncology |
| Adults with obesity | 38% | 33% | Cardiovascular, orthopedics, oncology |
| Adults with diagnosed high blood pressure | 36% | 31% | Cardiovascular |
| Adults with no leisure-time physical activity | 29% | 24% | Cardiovascular, orthopedics |
| Adults 45 to 75 up to date on colorectal cancer screening | 61% | 68% | Oncology |
| Adults with arthritis | 29% | 26% | Orthopedics |
| Emergency visits for falls among adults 65 and older, per 10,000 | 412 | 355 | Orthopedics |
The pattern is consistent. The county carries higher rates of the behaviors and conditions that drive heart disease, several cancers and joint problems, and lower rates of the screening that finds cancer early. Focus group participants added context the numbers do not show: long waits for cardiology appointments, no nearby place to exercise safely after a heart attack, and confusion about who should be screened for lung cancer.
Is the Hospital Meeting These Needs?
The table judges the hospital's current services against each major need.
| Need | Current hospital service | Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Hypertension and heart disease prevention | Inpatient cardiology; outpatient clinics with a six-week wait | Partly met; access is the gap |
| Recovery after heart attack, bypass or valve surgery | Cardiac rehabilitation with 14 slots a week and a waiting list | Not met; capacity far below eligible patients |
| Tobacco use | Referral to the state quitline only | Not met |
| Lung cancer detection | No organized low-dose CT screening program | Not met |
| Colorectal cancer detection | Colonoscopy available; no outreach to unscreened patients | Partly met |
| Arthritis and joint disease | Joint replacement program with good outcomes | Met for surgery; prevention not addressed |
| Falls among older adults | Emergency and trauma care only | Not met |
Cardiac rehabilitation stands out. It is a guideline-recommended therapy after heart attack, bypass surgery and valve procedures, yet it is underused nationally: among 412,080 Medicare beneficiaries with a qualifying event in 2017, only 28.6% attended even one session within a year, and only 27.6% of those who started completed 36 sessions (Keteyian et al., 2022). Summit Valley's 14 weekly slots cannot serve even the national rate, let alone a higher one. Lung cancer screening is the second clear gap. National screening guidance calls for a yearly low-dose CT scan for people aged 50 through 80 with at least 20 pack-years of smoking who are current smokers or quit fewer than 15 years before (US Preventive Services Task Force et al., 2021), and with the county's high smoking rate, many residents qualify.
Plan for Unmet Needs
Goal 1: Expand cardiac rehabilitation. When the new Heart and Vascular Center opens, add a rehabilitation gym with capacity for 60 sessions a week and a home-based option supported by staff. Measure: the share of eligible hospital patients who attend at least one session within 90 days, rising from an estimated 20% to 40% by the end of 2028, and the share who complete 36 sessions.
Goal 2: Launch organized lung cancer screening. Create a low-dose CT program with a navigator who identifies eligible patients from primary care records, holds the shared decision-making visit and tracks follow-up of abnormal results. Measure: 1,500 screens a year by 2028, with at least 90% of abnormal findings followed up within the recommended time.
Goal 3: Offer tobacco treatment. Hire a certified tobacco treatment specialist to see inpatients who smoke and outpatients referred from cardiology, oncology and primary care. Measure: 70% of inpatient smokers offered counseling and medication.
Goal 4: Close the colorectal screening gap. Mail stool-based test kits to unscreened patients of the hospital's primary care clinics, with reminders and navigation to colonoscopy when results are abnormal. Measure: screening among clinic patients 45 to 75 rising from 61% to 68%, matching the state.
Goal 5: Prevent falls. Partner with the county's aging services agency to offer an evidence-based balance and strength class in four community sites, with referrals from the emergency department and orthopedic clinics. Measure: 300 participants a year and a decline in emergency visits for falls among adults 65 and older.
Each goal will have an executive owner, and progress will be reported annually to the board and published in the hospital's implementation strategy update.
How the Plan Fits the Service Line Strategy
The five goals were chosen, and ordered, for three reasons. First, they address the largest gaps between need and service found in the assessment, not only the conditions that are most common. Second, several of them strengthen the new Heart and Vascular Center directly: expanded cardiac rehabilitation will be housed there, and tobacco treatment and blood pressure control reduce the events that bring patients to the center in the first place. Third, the plan balances services that generate revenue, such as lung cancer screening and follow-up care, with prevention services, such as tobacco treatment and falls classes, that the hospital will fund as part of its charitable mission.
Not every need can be met at once. Arthritis prevention and weight management, for example, will be addressed through partnerships with the county health department's existing programs rather than new hospital services in this three-year cycle. The next assessment will show whether the county's risk factors and screening rates are moving toward the state figures, which is the real test of whether the plan has worked.
References
Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). Community health needs assessment for charitable hospital organizations: Section 501(r)(3). Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/community-health-needs-assessment-for-charitable-hospital-organizations-section-501r3
Keteyian, S. J., Jackson, S. L., Chang, A., Brawner, C. A., Wall, H. K., Forman, D. E., Sukul, D., Ritchey, M. D., & Sperling, L. S. (2022). Tracking cardiac rehabilitation utilization in Medicare beneficiaries: 2017 update. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, 42(4), 235-245. https://doi.org/10.1097/HCR.0000000000000675
US Preventive Services Task Force, Krist, A. H., Davidson, K. W., Mangione, C. M., Barry, M. J., Cabana, M., Caughey, A. B., Davis, E. M., Donahue, K. E., Doubeni, C. A., Kubik, M., Landefeld, C. S., Li, L., Ogedegbe, G., Owens, D. K., Pbert, L., Silverstein, M., Stevermer, J., Tseng, C.-W., & Wong, J. B. (2021). Screening for lung cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA, 325(10), 962-970. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.1117
What the AMT2 Task 2 instructions ask
The second AMT2 task asks you to use a community health needs assessment to plan services. You will usually summarize the assessment, identify community risk factors, evaluate whether the organization meets the needs, plan for unmet needs and explain how the plan fits the organization's strategy. The assessment may be real or composite. Evaluators look for risk factors compared with a benchmark, a judgment of current services for each need, goals that address the largest gaps and a clear link to the service lines being developed. A summary of the assessment without a plan will not meet the planning aspects. The service lines should match those from Task 1, so the plan builds on earlier work.
How this AMT2 Task 2 example is built
The plan opens with the assessment's scope and how it was conducted. Risk factors appear in a table with county and state figures. A second table judges each need against the hospital's current services, which makes gaps visible. A short discussion explains why cardiac rehabilitation stands out. Five goals follow, each with actions, a timeline and a measure. The strategy section explains the order of the goals and how they support the new outpatient center. The conclusion links community needs, hospital services and service line growth. Sources include the county assessment, state surveillance data and research on cardiac rehabilitation. Each goal names who is responsible and when progress will be reported, so the plan can be followed after approval.
Where the AMT2 Task 2 rubric puts the marks
AMT2 Task 2 aspects are scored competent, approaching competence or not evident. An assessment aspect checks for an accurate summary. A risk factors aspect rewards comparisons with a benchmark. A current services aspect looks for an honest judgment of whether needs are met. A plan aspect asks for goals that address gaps with actions and measures. A strategy aspect wants the plan connected to the service line. Evaluators notice when the plan explains why nonprofit hospitals conduct these assessments and expect community data sources to be cited. They also check that goals are measurable, with targets and timelines rather than general intentions. A plan that shows why some needs were not chosen, and who else in the community might address them, reads as thoughtful rather than incomplete.
AMT2 Task 2 help: what sends it back
Needs plans come back most often when risk factors are listed without comparison. Show state or national figures beside local ones. Second, the evaluation of current services is missing. Judge each need. Third, goals do not match the biggest gaps. Prioritize and explain why. Fourth, goals lack measures. Add a target for each. Finally, connect the plan to the service line. Evaluators expect community needs to shape what the organization builds, not simply to appear in an appendix. Cite the assessment and data sources clearly, since evaluators check figures. Explain briefly how the organization will report progress back to the community, because accountability is part of the purpose of these assessments. Keep goals few enough to be achievable within the timeline you set.
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AMT2 Task 2 questions, answered
Are the AMT2 community figures real?
They are illustrative figures for a composite county, arranged to show the method. When you write your own, use your course's assessment or a real published one.
Must AMT2 Task 2 cover three service lines?
Follow your instructions. The sample considers heart, lung and joint care because the hospital's strategy includes those lines. Keep the same service lines across all three tasks.
Why do nonprofit hospitals conduct needs assessments in AMT2?
Federal tax rules require tax-exempt hospitals to assess community health needs periodically and adopt strategies to address them, which makes the assessment a planning tool. Explaining that requirement briefly shows why the plan matters.
How should AMT2 Task 2 prioritize needs?
By size of the gap, strength of evidence for interventions and fit with the organization's services. The sample ranks cardiac rehabilitation first on all three. Explain your ranking so evaluators can follow it.
Where can I find a free AMT2 Task 2 sample paper?
You are on it: the AMT2 Task 2 community health needs service plan appears in full above, with comments tied to the AMT2 rubric. Need AMT2 Task 2 written to your scenario? Share the rubric and your first custom draft costs nothing.