Community Health Improvement Plan

A Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a collaborative, action-oriented plan that outlines how the priority areas identified in the Community Health Assessment (CHA) will be addressed to promote and protect health and wellbeing across the Farmington Valley. The FVHD CHIP was created through a collaborative process that engaged community organizations, subject matter experts, and community members. The CHIP serves as a framework for our community partners, including municipal departments, social service agencies, private and nonprofit organizations, community and faith-based organizations, and local businesses, to coordinate efforts and resources to improve the health and quality of life for all in the Farmington Valley.

The 2024 FVHD CHIP was developed over an eight month period. Workgroups, comprised of community partners and members, were convened for each of the following three* priority areas identified in the CHA: healthy eating and active living, mental health, and optimal wellbeing for older adults. During the initial meetings, the workgroups were tasked with identifying (1) pressing issues and challenges in our community related to their workgroup’s priority area, (2) community strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and gaps to address their priority health area, and (3) potential partner organizations and agencies to engage in this CHIP work. Next, workgroup members developed specific goals, objectives, and strategies to address their priority health area. FVHD staff then used the frameworks developed by each workgroup to craft corresponding action steps. Once a draft plan was developed for each priority area, the plan was shared with each workgroup for feedback as well as with subject matter experts in our community to identify gaps and potential implementation challenges. All feedback was incorporated into the final Community Health Improvement Plan.

*The fourth priority area, emerging environmental health concerns, arose through discussions with the CHIP workgroups in recognition of the public health impacts of climate change.

These definitions correspond to terms used in the data tables below.

Priority Areas – identified through the Community Health Assessment and “Share Your Voice!” survey

Indicator – benchmark that can be measured to assess the overall impact of the CHIP on the health and wellbeing of the community

Trend – indicate how each indicator is performing over time. The direction of the trend arrow indicates whether the indicator is increasing or decreasing, while the color indicates whether the trend is moving in the direction we are aiming for. A green arrow indicates the indicator is moving in a healthy direction, a yellow arrow indicates no change, and the red arrow indicates the indicator is moving in an unhealthy direction.

Healthy People 2030 Objective – when available for an indicator, included as the data-driven national public health objective developed by the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Our Strategy – a snapshot of the objectives and strategies developed by the CHIP work groups to address each priority area. A full description of all objectives and strategies can be found in the full text of the CHIP at the top of this page.

Our Partners – community organizations who champion the work of the CHIP in the community

We need you!

As we launch our Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), we know the important work lies ahead as we move forward purposefully, with our partners, to put this plan into action. If you or your organization is passionate about this work, please consider joining one of the four workgroups established to advance this work to promote the health and quality of life for all in the Farmington Valley.

Send us an email or give us a call (860-352-2333) to get involved:

Health Eating and Active Living: Stephanie Johnson, sjohnson@fvhd.org
Mental Health: Justine Ginsberg, jginsberg@fvhd.org
Optimal Wellbeing for Older Adults: Amanda Hubbard, ahubbard@fvhd.org
Emerging Environmental Concerns: Jennifer Kertanis, jkertanis@fvhd.org

Priority Area 1: Healthy Eating & Active Living

Story Behind the Data

The benefits of healthy eating and physical activity on an individual’s physical, mental, and emotional health are numerous. Most notably, eating nutritious foods while staying physically active helps individuals maintain a healthy weight and lowers the risk of developing many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and certain kinds of cancer. The benefits to an individual’s mental and emotional health include better management of stress and anxiety, improvement of overall mood, a natural energy boost for daily activities, and greater focus and motivation.

Through our focus on healthy eating and active living, we believe everyone should have access to opportunities that allow them to maintain a healthy diet and live an active lifestyle by making the healthy choice the easy choice.

Data Tables

Farmington Valley Health Eating & Active Living Indicators

Indicator	2012-2016	2015-2018	2016-2020	Trend	Healthy People 2030 Objective
Fruit Intake: Percent of adult residents that eat fruits one or more times per day	70.7%	68.5%	73.8%		[N/A]
Vegetable Intake: Percent of adult residents that eat vegetables one or more times per day	88.7%	88.7%	88.7%		[N/A]
Food Security: Percent of adult residents who are rarely or never worried or stressed about having enough money to buy nutritious meals	88.7%	89.3%	86.7%		[N/A]
Self-Perceived Physical Health: Percent of adult residents that report their physical health, including physical illness and injury, was good for two or more weeks in the past month	87.7%	88.8%	90.4%		[N/A]
No Leisure Time Physical Activity: Percent of adult residents who do not participate in any physical activities or exercises, including running, golfing, gardening, or walking, in their free time	12.6%	14.2%	13.9%		21.8%
Healthy Weight: Percent of adult residents with a body mass index (BMI) that is between 18.5 and 24.9	45.8%	44.2%	41.8%		[N/A]
Overweight: Percent of adult residents with a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9	35.7%	37.6%	38.1%		[N/A]
Obesity: Percent of adult residents with a BMI greater than or equal to 30.0	18.5%	18.2%	20.1%		36%
Diabetes: Percent of adult residents who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they have diabetes	7.8%	6.8%	6.5%		[N/A]
Cardiovascular Disease: Percent of adult residents who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they had a heart attack or mycardial infarction, angina, coronary heart disease, and/or a stroke	4.7%	6.3%	7.6%		[N/A]

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Our Plan & Partners

Our Strategies for Healthy Eating and Active Living

Priority Area 1: Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL)
Our Objectives	Our Strategies
Reduce barriers to…	Free and low-cost physical activities Exercise due to hesitancy from lack of experience or skill Affordable healthy food choices Individuals growing their own food
Advocate for local policies around…	Nutritious meals for kids at minimal cost Adding healthy prepared meals to SNAP benefits Transportation to local events, trails, farmers markets, etc. Affordable housing that has opportunities for HEAL
Improve school environments through…	Enhancing school fitness Increasing the use of the outdoors as a classroom Increasing availability of healthy food options
Improve work environments through…	Increasing availability of workplace wellness programs Improving employee benefits
Improve community environments through…	Better utilization of outdoor recreation Increasing community supports for families Increasing access to open space and nature-based exercise Increasing availability of healthy food options
Increase community knowledge of…	Healthy eating and active living Recommended physical activity Growing and preparing healthy meals
Increase participation in…	Chronic disease and wellness programing Existing free or low-cost healthy food resources and fitness programs

Our Partners

Coming soon!

Priority Area 2: Mental Health

Story Behind the Data

Mental health affects how we think, feel, and behave. How we handle stress, relate to and interact with others, and make decisions are all everyday events that are affected by our mental health. Most everyone experiences occasional poor mental health days; however, prolonged periods of poor mental health and diagnosable mental illnesses impair daily functioning and the ability to live a healthy life.

Through our focus on mental health, we aim to prioritize the prevention and early identification of mental health challenges while creating communities that support mental wellness and flourishing for all community members.

Data Tables

Farmington Valley Mental Health Indicators

Indicator	2012-2016	2015-2018	2016-2020	Trend	Healthy People 2030 Objective
Self-Perceived Mental Health Percent of adult residents that report their mental health, including stress, depression, and problems with emotions, was good for two or more weeks in the past month	87.7%	86.8%	87.1%		[N/A]
Depression Percent of adult residents who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they have a depressive disorder, including depression, major depression, dysthymia, and/or minor depression	16.9%	16.3%	15.7%		[N/A]
Cigarette Smoking Percent of adult residents who currently smoke cigarettes every day or some days	8.8%	8.1%	8.0%		6.1%
Electronic Cigarette Vaping Percent of adult residents who have ever used an e-cigarette or other electronic vaping product, even just once	10.3%	13.2%	25.2%		[N/A]
Excessive Alcohol Consumption Percent of adult residents who report heavy drinking (at least 3 drinks daily for men and at least 2 drinks daily for women) or binge drinking (at least 6 drinks during one occasion for men and at least 5 drinks during one occasion for women) in the past month	20.5%	21.5%	20.6%		[N/A]

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Our Plan & Partners

Our Strategies for Mental Health

Priority Area 2: Mental Health & Substance Use
Our Objectives	Our Strategies
Enhance community knowledge of mental health through…	Increasing community trainings Reducing barriers to in-person trainings Partnering with community organizations Empowering parents and guardians to normalize conversations about mental health with their children
Help individuals strengthen their mental health coping skills by…	Increasing opportunities for individuals to learn self-help skills Promoting awareness of local mental health resources Continuing to develop Resilience Grows Here (RGH) to address lifespan needs Integrating mental health into workplace wellness programming
Increase early identification of mental health challenges for…	School nurses to assess for mental health indicators during nursing interactions with students Parents, guardians, and community members to identify early signs of mental health challenges in youth Community members to identify in themselves and others early signs of mental health challenges The community to identify safe environments when experiencing a mental health challenge
Increase community awareness of the clinical and subclinical mental health support options available locally through…	Working with partners to find gaps in the availability of mental health resources Centralizing basic mental health navigation information in CredibleMind

Our Partners

Coming soon!

Priority Area 3: Optimal Wellbeing for Older Adults

Story Behind the Data

As Americans are living longer than ever before, the demographics of our communities are shifting. This makes it critical to prioritize aging and disability inclusivity in all of our work as a health department. The FVHD has a higher proportion of older adults as compared to Connecticut as a whole and thus it is important to support environments that allow our residents to age safely and comfortably in their homes and their community. Maintaining one’s physical, mental, and cognitive health are critical components of healthy aging, and help reduce the risk of falls, physical injuries, social isolation and loneliness, and the development of Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

Through our focus on supporting our older adult population, we aim to support environments that allow older adults to remain physically and socially active in their community.

Data Tables

Farmington Valley Optimal Wellbeing for Older Adults Indicators

Indicator	2012-2016	2015-2018	2016-2020	Trend	Healthy People 2030 Objective
Self-Perceived General Health Status Percent of residents ages 65 years and older that feel their health in general is good, very good, or excellent	85.3%	86.1%	88.1%		[N/A]
Self-Perceived Mental Health Percent of residents ages 65 and older that report their mental health, including stress, depression, and problems with emotions, was good for two or more weeks in the past month	93.4%	93.3%	94.2%		[N/A]
Self-Perceived Physical Health Percent of residents ages 65 and older that report their physical health, including physical illness and injury, was good for two or more weeks in the past month	83.8%	84.4%	87.5%		[N/A]
Falls Percent of residents ages 65 and older that have fallen in the past year	28.0%	31.8%	33.0%		[N/A]
Pneumonia Vaccine Percent of residents ages 65 and older that have ever received a pneumonia shot	73.4%	77.0%	77.3%		[N/A]

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Our Plan & Partners

Our Strategies for Optimal Wellbeing for Older Adults

Priority Area 3: Optimal Wellbeing for Older Adults
Our Objectives	Our Strategies
Build intergenerational engagement opportunities by…	Encouraging community partners to provide check-ins with aging community members living independently Promoting intergenerational mentoring within local organizations
Build volunteer and civic engagement opportunities through…	Promoting the value of volunteerism and civic engagement Promoting volunteer and civic engagement opportunities
Provide data regarding the aging population and associated health issues through…	Issuing regular reports with key data regarding health and safety issues among the aging population Distributing data reports
Provide programming to enhance health and wellness for the aging population including…	Matter of Balance Classes and Steps to Safety program Resources on home safety and aging safely in place Evidence-based Live Well Programs Access to equipment that supports independent living
Build and promote inventory of resources/agencies available to the aging population by…	Providing health-focused resources through accessible channels Improving accessibility and readability of existing resources
Enhance transportation systems for seniors accessing services and programs through…	Evaluating gaps in existing transportation options Promoting walkability and safety audits to assess sidewalks, crosswalks Promoting awareness of existing transportation services
Ensure issues of aging are considered in local policies by…	Sharing model practices that support aging in place Providing written comment on policies with consideration for aging population Providing subject matter expertise to local Commissions on Aging
Promote and support accessible and affordable housing policies through…	Sharing model practices that support aging in new housing developments

Our Partners

Coming soon!

Priority Area 4: Emerging Environmental Health Concerns

Story Behind the Data

Climate change directly affects public health. Increased temperatures, more frequent and intense heat waves, and altered precipitation patterns can lead to heat-related illnesses, respiratory issues from poor air quality, vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever, and mental health challenges. By integrating climate change considerations, the FVHD believes we can better prepare for and mitigate these health risks, ensuring our community remains healthy and resilient.

Data Tables

Coming soon!

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Our Plan & Partners

Our Strategies for Emerging Concerns

Priority Area 4: Emerging Environmental Public Health Concerns
Our Objectives	Our Strategies
Identify mechanisms for monitoring public health implications of climate change through…	Enhancing local capacity to monitor climate change
Increase awareness of impacts of climate change on public health by…	Disseminating information on climate change
Protect indoor air quality in homes through…	Increasing the number of homes that have been tested for radon
Protect air quality in schools through…	Increasing the proportion of schools that have state-of-the-art air handling systems
Enforce public health laws that protect the environment and public health by…	Identifying and developing local ordinances that protect the public’s health Maintaining a trained and skilled public health workforce Increasing awareness of public health laws

Our Partners

Coming soon!