What is the Community Health Improvement Plan?
Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve health outcomes across all populations and in every community of Kershaw County, LiveWell Kershaw convened a group of county residents and leaders to build a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) on March 27, 2019. The group ultimately chose three top concerns to tackle through 2022, including:
- access to health care
- obesity
- emotional health
At the heart of the CHIP is a written plan that outlines data-driven tactics for improving community health by hitting targeted goals and objectives as a team. We believe that sharing the collective resources of the community and working collaboratively will improve efficiency and efficacy.
The current CHIP plan, created in the spring of 2019, is a three-year program that will remain in effect until May 31, 2022. The plan focuses on successful completion of specific action steps, one at a time, as we move toward our goals.
2023 Community Health Improvement Plan
2019-2022 CHIP Action Teams
Access to Care Action Team
The Access to Care Action Team is working toward the goal of increasing and improving ways to access affordable healthcare and transportation services among rural and underserved residents. Their current initiatives include:
- maintaining the Where is Care in Kershaw County? (whereiscarekc.org) online directory of clinical and social services providers designed for use by consumers, healthcare providers and local policymakers;
- partnering with the Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments, Santee-Wateree Regional Transportation Authority, and Kershaw County public and private agencies and organizations to advocate for and develop a transit system for our county.
The Access to Care Team is no longer meeting.
HEAL Team
The HEAL Team is working toward increasing healthy lifestyles among families countywide in order to decrease the obesity rate. This action team is helping Kershaw County “slim down” by:
- coordinating with Eat Smart, Move More Kershaw County to help local churches implement Faith, Activity and Nutrition (FAN)—an evidence-based program designed to help churches support healthy eating and promote physical activity;
- partnering with the Kershaw County School District to promote the “5-2-1-0” campaign designed to educate students and their families to eat five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, limit their leisure “screen time” to two hours a day, get one hour of physical activity daily and drink zero sugar-sweetened beverages;
- working with public and private agencies, businesses, and organizations to create outdoor fitness parks and fitness circuits that provide safe and convenient places for residents to exercise.
H.E.A.L. (Healthy Eating Active Living) Team is no longer meeting.
Emotional Health Team
The Emotional Health Team is working to improve the emotional well-being of Kershaw County residents by increasing the quality, availability, and effectiveness of community health programs. This team is working to improve residents’ mental and emotional wellbeing by:
- coordinating with SC Thrive to conduct free Mental Health First Aid training for Kershaw County adults and high-schoolers on how to identify and intervene for those living with mental health disorders;
- publishing a brochure of mental health resources available in Kershaw County.
The Emotional Health Team is no longer meeting.
Through the power of working collaboratively step-by-step while guided by an evidence-based blueprint for success, we hope that together we will achieve a culture of health in Kershaw County.
Want to Learn More or Get Involved?
More Information
Want to dig deeper? Read the full 13-page .pdf describing the LWK’s Community Health Improvement Plan for the research, process, metrics, goals, key players, and critical community partners involved in bringing this comprehensive population health project to life. Click the button below to view the Community Health Improvement Plan.
Want to get involved?
If you are interested in joining a CHIP Action team, contact DeAnne Wages at dwages@cmcofkc.org.