Passavant Area Hospital and the Morgan County Health Department are seeking input from the public to assess the health needs of the residents of Morgan County.

Nonprofit hospitals must complete a community health needs assessment every three years, a requirement of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. County health departments are required by the Illinois Department of Public Health to do a similar assessment every five years.

Morgan County residents will be able to identify pressing community health needs through an online survey, which went live today and will be open until Feb. 12. Residents can take the survey at go.uis.edu/chna.

The survey research department at the University of Illinois at Springfield will conduct the online survey.

Printed copies of the survey also will be available to various community organizations to distribute to residents who don't have access to a computer. Printed copies are available at the Morgan County Health Department, 345 W. State St., Jacksonville, from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m. Monday and from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Following the survey, the university will provide the nonprofit hospital and the county health department with an outcomes report. The two organizations will determine which health priorities they should address over the next three years and how to implement those priorities. Those priorities will be announced in late 2018.

In 2015, Passavant Area Hospital selected three health priorities on which it would focus for three years. Those priorities were obesity, mental health and access to care.