Marion County, Fla. — Marion County residents now have a new plan to achieve better overall health.

The Florida Department of Health in Marion County (DOH-Marion) on May 1 published the 2023-26 Marion County Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP.

Drawing from data found in Marion County’s 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment, the plan identifies specific goals that are intended to help the community achieve better health outcomes over the next three years

“The completion of the Community Health Improvement Plan will help us take concrete actions to improve health in Marion County,” said Mark Lander, Administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Marion County. “I’m grateful to the members of the Steering Committee who worked hard to produce this plan. The activities community members committed to perform will help make Marion County a healthier community.”

More than 35 representatives of community organizations assisted in developing the CHIP goals, objectives and activities. Steering Committee members represented organizations involved in health care, local government, social services, education, law enforcement and business.

The CHIP establishes 10 goals under four strategic priority areas, as determined by the Steering Committee. They include:

Healthy Aging (HA)

Goal HA1:  Increase supportive care and services for the aging population.

Goal HA2:  Promote healthy, active aging for all ages.

Access to Care (AC)

Goal AC1:  Enhance access to health-related resources.

Goal AC2:  Reduce primary care provider shortages in Marion County.

Wellness and Primary Prevention (WP)

Goal WP1:  Broaden availability of life skills and technical training for Marion County residents.

Goal WP2:  Foster healthy behaviors to lower chronic disease prevalence in Marion County.

Behavioral Health (BH)

Goal BH1:  Reduce high utilization calls of the 911 system from adults for mental health services.

Goal BH2:  Educate providers and the community on the availability and accessibility of behavioral health programs and services in Marion County.

Goal BH3:  Expand access to behavioral health care facilities.

Goal BH4:  Advocate for the adoption of a comprehensive tobacco control policy for Marion County's K-12 schools.

Click here to read the 2023-26 CHIP.

About the Florida Department of Health

The Department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.