The Clark County Community Health Assessment (CHA) is a report on the status of the health and well-being of our residents and identifies top health priority areas for the next 3 years. The Clark County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a plan for action developed by a partnership of community agencies, non-profits, citizens, and health care providers. The CHIP is a community blueprint of goals to improve the health for everyone and to get closer to achieving health equity.
Below you will find links to the full CHA and CHIP. There is a lot of good information in these documents but it’s a lot to digest. That’s why we also provide some short summaries of the work going on in the community, our overall progress toward our goals, and some of our success stories.
Health Priority Topics
Our health is influenced by many things. We all know that what we eat and how much we exercise impact our long-term health. But did you know that where you live, how much income you have, and your educational attainment impact your health just as much? Given the importance of these “social determinants of health,” CCCHD values the feedback from our local partners and stakeholder agencies that have programs that directly impact the populations we jointly serve. Data collection through the CHA process, community forums, and input from our partners and stakeholders resulted in the selection of the following priority health impact areas:
Decrease the number of adults and youth using tobacco and nicotine. Increase physical activity across all age groups. Decrease the number of people dying from diabetes and heart conditions. Get more people access to healthy food. Find and treat cancers in earlier stages.
Reduce the number of unplanned teen pregnancies. Reduce the number of syphilis and other sexually transmitted illnesses. Increase the number of babies that make it to their first birthday.
Connect more youth to people they can talk to when they are depressed or anxious. Reduce the number of youth who have considered suicide. Decrease the number of people overdosing on and dying from drugs.
Reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness. Increase the number of youth who feel safe and secure in their neighborhood. Increase the number of livable houses. Ensure residents have access to clean water, sewer service, and trash service. Reduce violent crimes.
We want your feedback
We want to know what you think about the four priority areas for this latest Community Health Improvement Plan. CLICK HERE to provide anonymous feedback about each of the four priority areas and make your opinion known.
Snapshots of the Community
Once snapshots of the data are available, they will be available here.
How was it created?
Clark County utilizes the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process to conduct community health assessments, guide community health improvement planning, and engage community partnerships. To access further information regarding the MAPP process, please visit the NACCHO webpage. Below you will find dropdown sections explaining what it takes to complete the CHA and CHIP.
The first step was to complete a comprehensive collection and analysis of data that was used to identify the health needs of our community. This data report is a snapshot of the health and well-being of residents in Clark County and it served as a road map for addressing those health and health related issues impacting the overall health of our communities.
This report was used at focus groups. The intent of the focus groups was to get direct feedback from individuals that live, work and play in the communities we serve about the factors that impact health. At these forums, residents joined us, participated in discussions and provided feedback regarding the most pressing health needs impacting their communities.
With the CHA completed we had a roadmap to inform community decision-making, the prioritization of health problems and ultimately the development of the Clark County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
The CHA was an important piece in the development of a CHIP because it helped the community understand the health and health related issues that need addressed. It also provided the most current and reliable information about the health status of our community and where gaps may exist in achieving optimal health.
CCCHD engaged and assembled the Clark County Community Health Improvement Steering Committee to complete the CHIP process. Clark County Community Health Improvement Steering Committee is a partnership between government agencies, non-profit organizations, and healthcare organizations from throughout the community.
State Health Assessment (SHA) and State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP)
The priority topics along with the three selected social determinants of health align with health improvement initiatives at the state and national level. This alignment positions Clark County to benefit from resources such as funding, intentional data collection efforts, demonstrated evidence-based practices, complimentary policy change, as well as wide-spread campaigns and health promotion efforts. These factors contribute to an increased state of community readiness.
To learn more about the SHA, please visit the Online State Health Assessment and to learn more about the SHIP, please visit the State Health Improvement Plan webpage.
Acknowledgements
The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a result of collaborative community participation. In addition to the CHA/CHIP Steering Committee members listed below, contributors include multiple task force and coalition partners, as well as individual community members:
- City of Springfield
- CitiLookout
- Clark County Combined Health District
- Clark County Commissioners
- Clark County Family & Children First Council
- Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee
- Community Health Foundation
- Developmental Disabilities of Clark County
- Educational Service Center
- Mental Health Recovery Board of Clark, Greene & Madison Counties
- Mental Health Services for Clark and Madison Counties
- Mercy Health-Springfield
- New Carlisle Community Health Center
- Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital
- Rocking Horse Community Health Center
- Springfield Foundation
- Springfield Metropolitan Housing Association
- United Senior Services
- Wittenberg University