Community Health Plan

The 2018-2023 Douglas County Community Health Plan was presented to and approved by the Health Board on Oct. 25, 2018. You can also view more about the Community Health Plan on the Healthier Together platform.

The process is being guided by a Steering Committee with formal representation from Douglas County and the county’s four municipalities — Baldwin City, Eudora, Lawrence and Lecompton. Nearly 30 people serve on the Steering Committee, representing: government, nonprofit, education, faith-based and business organizations.

The plan’s overarching themes are health equity and discrimination, which will be examined through the lens of four key issues that emerged as areas of interest in a recently-completed Douglas County Community Health Assessment (CHA):

  • Behavioral health
  • Food security and healthy built environment
  • Safe and affordable housing
  • Poverty and jobs

The CHA was completed and released to the public in August 2017. The CHA is a compilation and analysis of health data for Douglas County, using information from dozens of primary sources. In addition to the CHA, a number of supporting documents (considered appendices to the CHA) are available here:

  • Douglas County Health Data Report — A summary of key health data that was assembled from an array of local, state and national sources.
  • Douglas County Health Issues Survey Report — Results from a survey completed by more than 2,000 Douglas County residents in fall 2016.
  • Local Public Health System Assessment — A report based on a self-assessment by more than 50 community leaders examining the strengths and weaknesses of the local public health system.
  • Organizational Assessment Report — A report summarizing findings of a survey completed by 45 local organizations and businesses describing their population health initiatives.
  • PhotoVoice Project — Van Go Mobile Arts Inc. and the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department partnered for a photography project that explored how health issues are experienced in Lawrence.
  1. Current Planning Process
  2. 2013-18 Community Health Plan

Timeline

  • Summer 2016 — Listening sessions were held in Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City and Lecompton.
  • Sept. 1, 2016 — The Steering Committee met to review and approve the Community Health Assessment process.
  • Fall/Winter 2016 — Data was collected through a Health Issues Survey, existing health data and a local public health systems assessment.
  • Winter 2016/Spring 2017 — The Steering Committee conducted a detailed examination of root causes contributing to the issues identified during data collection and analysis.
  • Summer 2017 — The Steering Committee hosted five Community Health Forums.
  • August 2017 — The Steering Committee approved the Community Health Assessment.
  • October 2017 — The Steering Committee agreed the principle areas of focus for the next plan would be: access to healthy food and physical activity, behavioral health, safe and affordable housing, and poverty and good-paying jobs. Discrimination and equity will be the plan's overarching themes.
  • Winter 2017 — Work groups will be identified and convened around the focus areas.
  • Spring and Summer 2018 — Work groups will develop specific elements of the plan.
  • Fall 2018 — Plan will be approved by Steering Committee.
  • Fall 2018 — Plan will be presented to and approved by Douglas County jurisdictions represented in the planning process.