Health Improvement Plan Released In Williamson County

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — The Community Health Improvement Plan — an initiative identifying the top five health priorities in the region — has been released in Williamson County, officials announced Friday.

Known by its acronym CHIP, the effort is a three-year collaborative plan that defines actions to target efforts that promote health in Williamson County. The plan guides the activities of public health network and health coalition to address the most important issues facing the community, officials described.

To that end, the 2019 Community Health Assessment identified the top five health priorities for the county. The Williamson County and Cities Health District and Healthy Williamson County coalition partners worked together to address these priorities by formulating goals, objectives, and strategies to develop an action plan known as the CHIP, officials said.

Diverse coalition partners — such as healthcare, government, behavioral health, public health, schools, and non-profit agencies — worked together over the course of several months to develop CHIP goals, objectives, and strategies, officials said. This collective partnership, county officials added, recognizes that health starts in our homes, schools, and neighborhoods. The non-medical factors that affect health, which range from affordable housing to accessible transportation, are known as “social determinants of health," officials noted.

The 2020-2022 CHIP includes 30 objectives that address the top five health priorities identified by the 2019 Williamson County CHA: Behavioral health/stress/ well-being, Chronic disease risk factors, Social determinants of health, Access and affordability of healthcare, and Building a resilient Williamson County.

Learn more about the Healthy Williamson County Coalition, and access the Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan at: www.healthywilliamsoncounty.org. Learn more about Williamson County and Cities Health District at www.wcchd.org.