Alachua County has identified an area with few resources and a high concentration of health disparities and social detriments. Through model community advocacy and collaboration, this once-isolated area now has a family resource center and a health and dental clinic. Additionally, a childcare learning center opened on June 7. DOH-Alachua operates the health clinic, providing over 3,200 residents with over 40,000 services—including WIC, dental, family planning and immunizations—since the clinic opened in 2015. The low birth weight data shows a decline from 18.8% in 2014 to 11.5% in 2016 in the census tract where the clinic operates. DOH-Alachua staff supported and celebrated the opening of the childcare center that will add another resource of early childhood care and learning to the area.
The recently-released State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) is a five-year plan that engages public health system stakeholders to collectively address Florida’s top health priorities. Consisting of diverse partners from throughout the state, the SHIP Steering Committee meets throughout the five-year timeframe to ensure objectives are being met. The SHIP is structured by eight priority areas interwoven with health equity concepts that address health disparities. The priority areas are: Health Equity; Maternal and Child Health; Immunizations; Injury, Safety and Violence; Healthy Weight, Nutrition and Physical Activity; Behavioral Health (includes Mental Illness and Substance Abuse); Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Other Infectious Diseases; and Chronic Disease and Conditions (includes Tobacco-Related Illnesses and Cancer). Each priority area has a priority area workgroup (PAW) comprised of subject matter experts and managed by an internal and external co-chair. The subject matter experts work collaboratively to determine the PAW’s goals, strategies and objectives for the SHIP, and track their progress throughout the range of the plan.
Please follow these links to access the SHIP Executive Summary, SHIP Goals, Strategies and Objectives, and SHA Key Findings.
