2021 - 2026 Community Health Improvement Plan

Updated March 15, 2022

 Download the CHIP Book here! 

 Download the CHIP Poster here! 

To view the Community Health Improvement Plan appendices,  click here . The appendices includes research on evidence bases for each of the strategies, as well as clips of the Community Conversation processes.

The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a regional strategic plan for addressing health disparities and improving community health. The CHIP is used as a roadmap for health improvement over a five period and guides the investment of resources. This plan informs the use of these resources for the health department, hospitals, and health plans, and all organizations that have a stake in improving health for the residents of Worcester and the surrounding communities. This CHIP encompasses the towns of Grafton, Millbury, Shrewsbury, West Boylston, and the City of Worcester, and was developed over a 16-month planning process.

The 2021-2026 CHIP was created with four principles in mind: invest first in the community; elevate, listen to, and respect the community’s voice; eliminate gaps between services; and honor trauma-informed approaches to care with equal measure to resilience approaches to care.

The 2018 Community Health Assessment (CHA) surveyed community perspectives and identified priority populations and priority health concerns including mental health, substance use, chronic/complex conditions and social determinants of health (SDOH). The following are groups identified as priority populations that deserve special attention:

The following health focus areas were identified for the CHIP process to be built on:

1. Shortage of Providers & Beds
2. Integrated Care Responses
3. Screening & Early Intervention
4. Comprehensive Health Education and Literacy
5. COVID-19 and Social Determinants of Health

In the CHIP and all our work, our overarching goal remains to be health equity. We define health equity as “Attaining full health potential and wellness as experienced and honored through one’s many intersecting identities (race, sex & gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, ability status, immigration status, religion, etc.), and that of their family and communities” (Samantha Calero, Adapted from the Boston Public Health Commission, 2019).

Read our  Letter to the Community  for more on our foundation for the 2021-2026 CHIP.

The 2021-2026 CHIP plan has 1 overarching goal of health equity through a racial lens, 12 policy change campaigns, and 6 community action agendas necessary to enact structural changes toward improved health for all. The plan is implemented, tracked, and evaluated by the Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester and the Worcester Division of Public Health/Central Massachusetts Regional Department of Public Health with the ultimate goal of health equity. More details are to come about the specific objectives, outcomes, and progress being made to accomplish the goal listed below.

Adopt Community-led Racial Equity Training for all Staff, Boards, and Commissions

Rationale: Structural racism and discrimination have led to major racial and ethnic health disparities in our community. Through community-led racial equity trainings, all municipalities will share an aligned set of anti-racist values in the workplace and when interacting with community. 

Impact: All staff, boards, and commissions in the city and in the regional area are informed and active on anti-racist principles and action planning.

Work with and Compensate Grassroots Leaders in Oversight and Decision-Making

Rationale: Structural racism and discrimination have led to major racial and ethnic health disparities in our community. Through participatory planning, budgeting, and implementation, the power is equitably distributed throughout the community to decide where and how resources are allocated.

Impact: Active and ongoing community engagement steers how funding is allocated, resources are distributed, and programs are developed so that priorities are consistently based on community feedback.

Use Community-vetted Equity Tools in Department, Board, and Commission Planning and Decision Making

Rationale: Structural racism and discrimination have led to major racial and ethnic health disparities in our community.

Impact: Our CHIP municipalities will access and implement an anti-racism tool kit, and accountability practices are ingrained in the human resource process and outcomes and culture of municipal departments, boards, and commissions.

The Community Wide Policy Change Campaigns are legislative and advocacy priorities already being led by local leaders, and that were named as top priorities from the data in the Community Conversations. The CHIP will amplify and support locally led advocacy efforts to reach state government to adopt policies that will improve the health of our community".

Click through the slides below to explore the 12 policy change campaigns included in the 2021-2026 CHIP.

We are working with other local community groups to address health issues persistent on the community level. Through six working groups composed of key stakeholders and Greater Worcester residents, the following six service strategies will be planned and implemented to address upstream system issues with the goal of creating more equitable avenues to resources and care, and as a result, greater equitable health outcomes across race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status in the Greater Worcester Region.

CHIP Baseline Evaluation Report (2021)

The 2021 - 2026 would not have been possible without the input and engagement of over 100 community members; 12 Cohort Leaders; five dedicated CHIP interns; and every public health leader and subcommittee member of the Coalition. We would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Laurie Ross who led the facilitation and reporting on the gap/root analysis that was integral to developing processes and implementation of the CHIP development. We would like to thank the Worcester Department of Health & Human Services and the Division of Public Health for their ongoing support behind the CHIP strategies. Special thanks to our Subcommittee Co-Chairs who help facilitate important conversations that lead to sustainable action for the Coalition. A huge thank you to the YWCA of Central Massachusetts who serves as the Coalition’s fiscal sponsor. The Community Conversation conducted between October 2020 and January 2021 were foundational for the CHIP, and we would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the 2020 - 2021 Cohort who coordinated these conversations, brokered relationships, and fostered trusting safe spaces for community members to speak their truths that will build the next five years of action planning and implementation.    

Coalition Leadership

Staff: Casey Burns, Coalition Director | Tempe Staples, CHIP Evaluation and Writing Coordinator | Chantel, CHIP Community Engagement Coordinator

Steering Committee Co-chairs: Karyn Clark and Ron Waddell

Subcommittee Co-Chairs

Racism and Discrimination Co-chairs: Rotating facilitation 

Community Engagement Co-chairs: Judi Kirk and Emily Linhares

Research and Evaluation Co-chairs: Nikki Nixon and Suzanne Cashman

Resource and Development Co-chairs: Karyn Clark and Monica Lowell

Policy and Advocacy Co-chairs: Laura Martinez and Jermoh Kamara

2020 - 2021 CHIP Leadership Cohort: Sha-Asia Medina | Kaci Panarelli | Rush Frazier | Greg Waldorf | TJ Lewis | Ryan Wilkie | Gabe Rodriguez | Grace Sliwoski | Ethan Belding  

2020 - 2021 CHIP Interns: Jill Anderson | Manal Pathak | Omar J. Villalpando | Orlando Gomez

2021 - 2022 Leadership Cohort: Jill Anderson | Orlando Gomez | Kelly Beverly | Jonida Duque | Art Dubois | Lu Dunker | Jenn Madson | Marie Yves | Avae Thomas-Quartey | Adam Thielker

Design: Avery Fairbanks, 2021 - 2026 CHIP Poster Design | Kelly Beverly, 2021 - 2026 CHIP Book Design

Photography Copyright 2021 Josh Kohanek

Photo courtesy of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation