On Wednesday, part one of my two-part blog, called “Improving Michigan’s Economy by Uniting to Curb Obesity,” summarized Governor Snyder’s Sept. 21 Obesity Summit. It also conveyed enthusiasm for how participants collaboratively developed strategies that meshed increasing residents’ awareness of how to be healthy with creating community environments that make healthy choices easy.

Part two describes how the “Health Improvement Plan of Washtenaw County” (HIP), has translated the governor’s proposed framework of “partnerships, data, and strategies” into action in Washtenaw County since 1995.

How does HIP address complex health issues like obesity in Washtenaw County?

Partnerships

• Facilitated by Washtenaw County Public Health (WCPH), over 25 organizations and 350 individuals (HIP partners) spanning many sectors and regions voluntarily pool funding, resources and brain power to improve health. Partners unify around the premise — that since health is complex, causes are systemic, and resources are limited — collaboration is key.
• Data: Every five years HIP conducts a health survey that gives partners a detailed understanding of health, risks, and behaviors. It reveals dramatic health disparities in our county that, without the survey, would be much less visible.
• Partners use the data to prioritize and quantify the health challenges we face.
• HIP sets long-term, local, and measurable health improvement objectives (HIP 2020 Objectives which are our county’s version of the governor’s Michigan Health and Wellness Dashboard).

Strategies

• Partners use HIP data to implement “data-driven” strategies modeled on best practices.
• HIP prioritizes strategies that increase health equity. For example, page two of the linked report illustrates a 15-year gap between the shortest and longest average lifespan in our county. Differences are related to place of residence, income, and education levels — among other factors.
• HIP supports multiple strategies at multiple levels across multiple sectors.
• Partners focus on the most common and costly diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. To achieve this they emphasize: 1) increasing physical activity and healthy eating, 2) reducing tobacco use and 3) preventing and reducing depression.
• Since about 60 percent of a person’s health status is determined by factors occurring outside the doctor’s office, HIP prioritizes creating local community environments that help make the healthy choice the easy choice for all (McGinnis, 2002).

What does applying partnerships, data, and strategies look like in our county?

The local HIP data informs decisions about where, how, and which strategies should be implemented. Here are two examples:

The Prescription for Health Program is a partnership between Washtenaw County Public Health, five local health clinics, two local farmers’ markets and the Kresge Foundation. It expands traditional medical services and “prescribes” tokens for fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income patients with chronic illnesses.

Joint Use Agreements optimize existing resources to make physical activity more accessible. The Ann Arbor YMCA and City of Ypsilanti work together to provide recreation programs at Ypsilanti city parks and senior center.

For more examples, visit the HIP website
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There is no one reason why some Americans are healthier than others, and there’s no one solution to improving health for all. However, through “partnerships, data, and strategies”, Washtenaw County residents can be confident that the required functions of their public health department — assessment, policy development, and assurance — are being translated into action to help reduce obesity and other complex health issues locally.

Want to come to a HIP coalition meeting? The next one is on Nov. 15 at the Ellen Thompson Women’s Center at St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ypsilanti from noon to 1:30 p.m. Want to be added to the coalition listserv or just learn more about HIP? Contact me at koehlerk@ewashtenaw.org or visit the HIP website at http://hip.ewashtenaw.org.

Keven Mosley-Koehler is the Health Improvement Plan coordinator for the Washtenaw County Public Health Department. She can be reached at 734-734-544-3078 or koehlerk@ewashtenaw.org.