Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
What is a CHIP?
A Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a long-term, systematic effort to address health and wellbeing needs in a community. The plan is based on the results of community health assessment activities, and is part of a community health improvement process, helping to set priorities, coordinate efforts, and target resources. It should define the vision for the health of the community through a collaborative process and should address the gamut of strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities that exist inthe community to improve the health status of that community. (Source: Public Health Accreditation Board).
Priorities
Priority 1:Service Navigation- Priority 2:Mental Health
- Priority 3:Chronic Health and Wellness
- Priority 4:Substance and Alcohol Misuse
- Priority 5:Infectious Disease
- Priority 6:Reproductive and Perinatal Health
- Priority 7:Housing and Built Environment
- Priority 8:Safety and Violence
The CHIP is a Community-driven Initiative
Bringing together community members, leaders, agencies, and businesses to help create objectives and develop strategies. In collaboration with Tufts Medicine Lowell General Hospital, we hosted listening sessions to engage our community partners, and set our course for the future. Over several months we held 28 listening sessions and spoke to more than 200 people, producing specific data reports from each of our eight communities and encompassing those populations often marginalized or at risk, including LGBTQ+, seniors, and refugees & immigrants.
Community is the heart of well-being; together we thrive.
How the CHIP Can Help You
- Aligning agency strategic plans with broader CHIP goals
- Applying for grants and sponsorships
- Choosing internal agency priorities
- Fine-tuning project ideas to be better suited to community needs
- Identifying metrics to track
- Selecting advocacy efforts
- Drafting legislation
- Allocating funding to projects that fit within CHIP priorities
- and so much more!
Wellness is a connection of paths: knowledge and action.
Identifying a New Need
Through this process, our community identified a new area of focus: Service Navigation, which encompasses access, digital equity, care quality, and experiences, and the mutual safety of patients and providers. This area will be incorporated into the GLHA’s six health focused task forces—Health Equity, Wellness & Chronic Disease, Maternal Child Health, Behavioral Health, Housing & the Built Environment, Substance Use and Prevention –which have adopted the CHIP as the driving force behind their efforts, setting goals and objectives to target areas of need identified in the CHIP process.
The power of community to create a healthier community through collaboration, education and coordination of resources.
Turning Data into Action
The CHIP plans will turn into action through two key routes: GLHA task forces and GLHA grant funding. As our task forces and community partners create action plans to address needs identified in the CHIP, we will be reporting back to the community on their goals, objectives, and progress in each focus area.