Williamson County health officials have charted a new three-year roadmap addressing key health needs in the county including positive mental health and fighting obesity.
The 2020-22 Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, released last week lays out 30 objectives and goals addressing five health priorities derived from the 2019 County Health Assessment, said Kelli Becerra, community partnerships manager at the Williamson County and Cities Health District.
The priorities, in order of importance, are:
Behavioral health, stress and well-being
Chronic disease risk factors
Social determinants of health
Access and affordability of health care
Building a resilient Williamson County
The newest reiteration of the CHIP comes nearly a year after Williamson County once again ranked among the healthiest in the state. In March 2019, the County Health Rankings put Williamson at No. 3, keeping it among the top five healthiest in Texas since the rankings were introduced in 2010.
The health plan is the result of collaboration between 125 community partners consisting of local governments, school districts, hospitals and faith-based groups, among others. Among those partners is Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, a Round Rock-based organization aimed at expanding health care access in Central Texas. Andrea Richardson, executive director of the organization, said the CHIP keeps health leaders accountable.
“(Williamson County) is one of the healthiest counties in Texas,” she said. “In order to keep that title, we need to act.”
The plan was years in the making. From April 2018 to October 2018, a county task force collected data through surveys, focus groups, interviews and meetings to create the County Health Assessment, which set the county’s top five health priorities.
The No. 1 priority of the assessment is “behavioral health, stress and well-being,” which Becerra said encompasses mental health and substance abuse issues.
Chronic disease risk factors — ranked as a “close second” in importance, she said — are meant to address conditions like obesity and diabetes.
Becerra noted the priority, “social determinants of health,” is a new one for the CHIP. It addresses factors that she said some may not necessarily associate with health, like access to transportation and affordable housing.
“Access and affordability of health care” is a returning priority meant to bring care to all communities in the county, regardless of their financial situation.
“Building a resilient Williamson County” is another new priority. Becerra said its objective is twofold: educating the county on how trauma can affect personal health, and promoting disaster preparedness.
“We think that this priority could be the solution to the top four priorities,” Becerra said.
The partners involved in creating the health plan met last fall choose the priorities and brainstorm on action plans. Objectives include working with the Texas Legislature to maintain funding for behavioral health resources and increasing access to fresh food in underserved areas of the county.
Bluebonnet Trails regularly records data and reports it to the county to help track progress on the health priorities, Richardson said. Some of the data points include the number of people the organization serves, the progress of patients’ health over time and how often patients are diverted from emergency care or jail.
The health plan has other uses aside from providing an action plan for health needs in the county, Becerra said.
“Many of our community partners use the CHIP as a roadmap for what to work on. They also use it to apply for funding to help bring more resources to our county,” she said. “Our team uses the CHIP to track progress on what our community is working on to show the collective impact all of our organizations make when we work together.”
Becerra and Richardson said they hope the community can rally around the health plan to make Williamson County healthier for everyone.
More information on the Community Health Assessment and the CHIP is available at healthywilliamsoncounty.org.
Credit: Source link
