RENO, Nev. – The District Board of Health approved the 2018-2020 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) during their meeting in June. Now, the CHIP will be presented to the public at a special event set for 9:30 a.m., Thursday, August 2, in the Washoe County Commission Chambers, at 1001 E. Ninth Street, in Reno.  The event will include results of the 2018-2020 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), strategies in the CHIP as a result of the CHNA, and how the community can move forward to improve health. Presentations will be followed by a networking lunch. 
“We know there are many health needs in our community,” said Washoe County Commissioner and District Board of Health Chair Kitty Jung. “As we move forward with implementation of the plan we will continue to focus on community collaboration, because collaboration is an essential piece of our success and progress towards helping our residents live healthy lives,” Jung said. 
According to Dick, the 2018-2020 CHIP was developed in response to the rankings of health needs within the CHNA and is the result of six months of planning, evaluating and engaging Truckee Meadows Healthy Communities and other organizations in the region to gain a better understanding of what the community sees as the top priorities. The result is a comprehensive health overview that utilized secondary data sources, results from an online community survey, feedback from subject matter experts, and input from participants through a community workshop. A detailed methodology scored and prioritized the extensive amounts of data in the CHNA. 
The Washoe County Health District and its partners developed a plan towards tackling some of our most pressing public health issues with emphasis on housing, behavioral health, physical activity and nutrition. The 2018-2020 CHIP is a reflection of the collaboration and partnership seen across the Truckee Meadows in pursuit of better health.  It provides an excellent foundation to align the efforts of the many community partners working together collectively to improve the health of our community. 
The CHIP is being implemented over a three-year period. The Washoe County Health District will provide progress updates, and changes and revisions will be made to the CHIP as needed. 
To learn more about the CHIP and the work being done in Washoe County, visit us on line at www.washoecounty.us/health, or email Catrina Peters at cpeters@washoecounty.us.
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