This fall has been an exciting time for CHIP as we have worked to ensure the amazing work of our partners can be sustained as we make this transition into a new structure with more focused priorities. We are calling the result CHIP 2.0. This new model is built on the premise that in order to sustain community level work, it is essential to have community leaders moving the work forward and that the role of Health Improvement Specialists (HIS) is changing to to allow for a focus on providing technical assistance to those community leaders and other CHIP partners. There are three main components of CHIP 2.0: 1) Building capacity among community partners to sustain their work and leadership in community health; 2) Narrow the focus of CHIP priorities; and 3) Better measurement of the impact of CHIP efforts both in clinical and community settings. Data-sharing across key stakeholders is fundamental to better measurement.
As for the CHIP Priority Workgroups, their work is tireless! Here are just a few updates:
The Diabetes Workgroup is in the process of evaluating the most effective way to use the valuable information and stories obtained through the Shiloh Diabetes Photovoice initiative. Our Food Security Workgroup has developed an action plan to increase capacity and sustainability and improve collaboration and is receiving support from Leadership Asheville to make this collaboration more effective. Double Up Food Bucks opened a second market location at West Village Market and last week submitted a USDA Food Insecurity Nutrition Intervention grant application to support expansion in Buncombe County and into our western counties under the umbrella of MountainWise. To support the evaluation and data collection capacity of our food security partners, a special RBA training was held with the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council and UNC Asheville faculty and students in November. And on the physical activity front, in September Open Streets Asheville welcomed 1800 walkers, cyclists and skaters to the streets of downtown Asheville to play and celebrate active lifestyles and community.
Infant Mortality Workgroup is celebrating that MAHEC recently received a two-year implementation grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield, continuing the work Community-Centered Health Home started in 2015. The grant, co-written by all of the partners engaged in the initiative over a 6 month period, prioritizes building community capacity, making clinical shifts, making environmental and policy changes, and creating a strategic communications plan to further this model. In addition, four of the doulas from Pisgah View and Hillcrest apartments, trained with support from this grant grant, were just on-boarded as MAHEC PRN staff. In
Perinatal Substance Use, MAHEC's Project CARA is thrilled to be entering into a year-long technical assistance relationship with UNC's Horizons program, which has been in existence for over 20 years and has set the standard for wrap-around services for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders.
Violence Prevention Task Force has just finalized an exciting county-wide 10-year plan to prevent intimate partner violence, sexual violence and child maltreatment. And related, MAHEC also hosted a second successful Adverse Childhood Experiences Southeastern Summit, with 400 attendees, including presentations from Australia and Japan!
