Oakland County and its community partners launched its Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) last Thursday at the San Marino Club in Troy where almost 200 partner organizations, healthcare providers, community leaders, and businesses gathered to hear details of the plan. County Executive L. Brooks Patterson called on businesses, organizations, and individuals to align their plans and policies with the CHIP in his 2016 State of the County address.
“Imagine what the results will be when we all come together to improve the health of our employees, our residents, and our families,” Patterson said. “It will be a game changer. This call to action will move the needle forward on health in Oakland County. Working together, I am confident we will improve the overall health here in Oakland County.”
Some of the goals that the CHIP will focus on to move Oakland County forward in improving health include:
• Increase access to and consumption of healthy foods.
• Increase the number of children and adults who lead active lifestyles.
• Foster improvements in the built environment to create more connected, livable communities.
• Improve access to affordable health care.
• Improve health data and information sharing.
Action teams will be designated to implement strategies to achieve these goals.
The Oakland County CHIP was developed from a comprehensive county-wide Community Health Assessment (CHA) conducted by Energizing Connections for Healthier Oakland (ECHO) throughout 2015. ECHO is a county-wide health improvement initiative convened by Oakland County Health Division that is focused on achieving a community where every person that lives, works, attends school, worships, or plays in Oakland County is a healthy person. ECHO surveyed community residents about health behaviors and quality of life, as well as looked at data and information, including health resource availability, behavioral risk factors, maternal and child health, environmental health, and more.
“ECHO actively engaged numerous sectors and community members during the assessment process,” said Kathy Forzley, manager/health officer of the Health Division. “The CHA and CHIP reflect this community participation, and provides the roadmap to improve health for all who live, work, worship, and play in Oakland County.”
Representatives from the California-based Prevention Institute served as keynotes for the event. They also conducted an afternoon workshop that provided participants with initial steps and concrete examples on how to put the CHIP into action. Dr. Timothy Meyer, Chancellor of Oakland Community College and one of the local leaders supporting the CHIP, spoke about the importance of using data to build a picture of the health in a community. Attendees also received copies of the Oakland County CHA and CHIP, which are also available online at www.oakgov.com/health.
About Energizing Connections for Healthier Oakland (ECHO) ECHO focuses on achieving a community where every person who lives, works, attends school, worships, or plays in Oakland County is a healthy person. ECHO partners are assessing health, aligning efforts, and expanding successful practices to improve health. ECHO engages partners from businesses, local governments, education, veterans’ services, parks and recreation, environmental, emergency response, public health, health care, mental health, vulnerable populations, and human service organizations. To learn more about ECHO and how to become involved, visit the ECHO webpage at www.oakgov.com/health and select the ECHO banner or email echo@oakgov.com.
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