DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — When you think about health the first thing to come to mind may be medical but there's a lot more when it comes to the health of people living here in Door County.
- Door County Public Health started a 2020 assessment but that got delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The current plans focuses on mental health, substance use and healthy lifestyles.
- The Community Health Improvement Plan was compiled from data gathered in assessments from local community.
- This plan is for 2023-2025.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I took a look at the community health improvement plan (C.H.I.P.)
“We're getting the word out there, that this is happening, and this is going on,” said Blackledge.
The priorities of the current Community Health Improvement Plan in Door County include:
Mental health
Substance use
Healthy lifestyles
Local health officials say the key areas for improvement include:
Workforce protection
Equitable housing access
Combating social isolation
Door County Public Health Strategist, Shauna Blackledge, explains why the current plan is important for the community.
“The primary focus area of this health improvement plan was how do we prioritize our workforce and our people knowing that we have such a huge tourism industry,” said Blackledge.
Door County Medical Center conducts the plans every three years.
Door County Public Health started a 2020 assessment but that got delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The years of this plan are a little bit goofy, because of COVID-19, the state put a little freeze on the requirement to submit a plan. So, we were behind in getting this one out," said Blackledge.
The Community Health Assessment (C.H.A.) was released online in January 2023 and the latest community health improvement plan was released last month. The current plan goes from 2023 to 2025.
A leadership team was put together in 2023 to help make improvements.
“I'm getting out into those restaurants and having quiet conversations with actual waitstaff cooks, hosts, kitchen managers, you name it,” said Salm.
One of the members is Paul Salm.
"The first thing we've got to do is to get out into that industry, sit back and just listen to what they need from us," said Salm.
Some of the topics include retirement, exercising, and mental health...
"A lot of times all of these things stack up against an individual human, and you start to break down and that's normal," said Salm.
There’s an interactive dashboard in the works that will display data related to their work, and you can find the current plan here is the current plan.
