Community Health Improvement Plan underway in Charlottesville area

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a three-year-long process, and it all starts now.

The Blue Ridge Health District, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, and UVA Health are all working together to target four areas of need they found from their Map2Health report in the fall, an assessment done every few years.

“We’re really refocusing on the social determinants of health where you live, work, and play, and how that affects your life,” Jen Fleisher said.

The plan focuses on transportation, the health care workforce, digital access and literacy, as well as mental & behavioral health.

“We have these three years to unite all of our community organizations and agencies and health systems in advancing four areas of policy,” Fleisher said.

She says they’re collaborating with nonprofits and agencies in the Blue Ridge Health District to put solutions in place. This includes things like improving rides to and from hospitals.

“We’re really thinking that we’ve already had some progress in the realms of the workforce and transportation and we’re really hoping to bolster those as we go along” Fleisher said.

They’re working with Charlottesville Area Transit, JAUNT, the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, Piedmont Virginia Community College, JABA, and more.

More information on the plan can be found here.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.

Copyright 2023 WVIR. All rights reserved.