By: Grace Grinager, Public Health Supervisor for Cook County Public Health and Human Services

The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a five-year roadmap for improving community health in Cook County and is being developed with community input in the coming months. 

The CHIP builds off the Community Health Assessment (CHA), which was developed for 2023-2027 last year, with input from a group of over 35 community members. This document combines insights from a series of three community meetings, along with relevant data on multiple health topics. The assessment also identifies seven areas that participants identified as priorities for improving community health. These are:

• Affordable housing
• Mental health resources and support for well-being
• Affordable, quality childcare
• Transportation options
• Affordable, healthy foods
• Physical health services

The complete report can be found online at: www.co.cook.mn.us/CommunityHealthImprovementPlan. You can also request a paper copy of the report by calling the front desk of the Public Health and Human Services office at 218-387-3620.

The CHIP will serve as a roadmap for both PHHS and community partners who are actively engaged in improving these priority health areas. It will also serve as a tool to document the important work that has been done throughout 2023-2027. PHHS will be reaching out to existing coalitions and organizations working in these areas in the coming months for their help in developing the CHIP. If you are interested in being a part of this process, please contact Grace Grinager, Public Health Supervisor at [email protected]. 

Some examples of how the past cycle’s CHIP informed our work as a department include:

• Guiding funding priorities for the Public Health Fund grants
• Helped us apply for and receive grant funding to address housing (Healthy Housing Grant), mental health (Rural Communities Opioid Response Grant), Age-Friendly work (Age-Friendly Communities Grant), and early childhood initiatives (various grants focused on developing the local childcare system)
• Spurred planning efforts for the Coordinated Crisis Response Pilot
• Began deepening work related to substance misuse prevention

Learn more about the next steps in developing the Cook County Community Health Improvement Plan at the February 20 PHHS Board Meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the Cook Commissioners Room. PHHS Board Meetings are available to livestream and view on the Cook County at www.co.cook.mn.us. You can also visit our website at www.cookcountyphhs.org, contact us via email at [email protected] or find us on Facebook @CookCountyPHHS or Instagram @cook_county_phhs to learn more about our work in supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of Cook County. 

County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.