Community Health Improvement Plan
A Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a long-term, systematic effort to address issues identified by the Community Health Assessment (CHA). Other agencies in the community can use a strong CHIP to identify local community health needs and priorities. El Paso County Public Health and all public health agencies in Colorado are required by the Colorado Public Health Act (Senate Bill 08-194)” to complete a CHIP for the community each serves. El Paso County Public Health must also complete a CHIP every five years by the Public Health Accreditation Board. Non-profit hospitals also are required to create a similar plan as a part of the Affordable Care Act.
To facilitate this process and produce a CHIP that works for Public Health and hospitals, El Paso County Public Health convenes a stakeholder group called the Healthy Community Collaborative. This group has been meeting regularly since 2011. The Healthy Community Collaborative consists of representatives from Public Health, area hospitals, medical providers, social service agencies, schools, for-profit and non-profit business communities, academia and individual citizens.
The Healthy Community Collaborative has reviewed the health indicator and socioeconomic data for the 2017 CHA and has created a written CHIP report for 2018-2022. In addition, the Healthy Community Collaborative has selected two priority areas for the CHIP: mental health/substance use and healthy eating/active living. The Healthy Community Collaborative monitors its progress on the CHIP’s priority areas on the Thriving Colorado dashboard. See dashboard here.
