Community Health Improvement Plan

After public health priorities are identified by the community through completing a community health assessment (CHA), a community health improvement plan (CHIP) is developed. The CHIP focuses on improvement ideas related to each public health priority and community feedback. Involving many community partner organizations is key to successful and sustainable changes. It truly does take an entire community working together to make a lasting impact – it takes a Pueblo!

The 2024 Community Health Assessment (CHA) prioritized mental health and risky behaviors as Pueblo County’s top health needs. Visit the CHA webpage to learn more.

2025-2028 Joint CHIP Partners & Priorities

Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment
CommonSpirit St. Mary-Corwin Hospital
uchealth

The three health systems committed energy and coordination around 20+ health indicators to guide improvement work for the next three years, which all focus on mental health and risky behaviors (which does include substance use).

Mental Health

  • Age-adjusted rate of suicide deaths (per 100,000 population).
  • Age-adjusted rate of suicide hospitalizations (per 100,000 population).
  • Local data that focuses on high school student mental health, general community mental health, postpartum depression, depression screening results and follow up, and access to mental health care.

Risky Behaviors

  • The percentage of older adults (65+ years) who were up to date on a core set of clinical preventive services.
  • Overdose death crude rate (per 100,000).
  • Percentage of students who have ever used an electronic vapor product.
  • Local data that focuses on mammograms, HIV screenings, adult binge drinking, pregnant woman drinking rates, opioid overdose rates, emergency department follow ups, tobacco use, and youth marijuana use.

Data sources that will be utilized to collect and track this data will include the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS), Colorado Vital Statistics, Colorado Health Institute’s Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS), the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) – most beautifully displayed and organized as part of the Colorado Health Information Dataset (CoHID) from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Data will also be collected from local sources including but not limited to Pueblo County’s Regional Accountable Entity (RAE) within Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program), both hospital systems, and other local implementation partners.

What are we currently doing?

The Equity Action Lab Framework is a re-designed Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) tool for public health community work.

The framework was adopted by PDPHE as part of the 2022/2023 CHIP. Implemented with partners since then, the framework and its highlighted feature of a “sprint” (90-100 days of focused action) has been highly effective in leveraging limited expert capacity and resources for real-time community health improvements. Continued by PDPHE and health systems for the 2025-2028 CHIP, the current phase of the CHIP is featured below. For more detailed information on this framework read the CHIP report.

CHIP Equity Action Lab Framework Timeline. Prep: 2-4 months with periodic meetings. Data analysis, leadership team forms, design team recruited. Action Lab: 2 days of intensive planning. Set ambitious goals, develop solutions, create action plans. Sprint: 90-100 days, regular team meetings. Goal achieved: 1 day Momentum lab, celebrate success, set new goals, plan for what's next. Sustain: maintain or scale up. Star visual indicating ‘we are here’ at the prep phase.
The Equity Action Lab Plan Framework timeline outlines "sprints" focused on behavioral health (Adverse Childhood Experiences, ACEs) and obesity (food access). In 2023, an ACEs awareness campaign was launched, and food access barriers were surveyed. In 2024, a caregiver town hall and educator toolkit were promoted for ACEs, alongside the Pueblo Food Project’s food finder. From 2025-2028, priorities will shift to mental health and risky behaviors, with a Spanish Stigma Reduction Campaign and Comprehensive Sex

Current CHIP Projects

Mental Health

Spanish Stigma Reduction Campaign English Stigma Reduction Campaign

In strong collaboration with Health Solutions, CHIP partners are promoting the campaign “Hablemos de Salud Mental: Sin Miedo, Sin Estigma” / “Let’s Talk About Mental Health: Without Fear, Without Stigma”, working to de-stigmatize mental health services for Pueblo County’s Spanish-speaking communities. Visit the website here for Spanish mental health resources and services. The 100-day CHIP sprint focuses on campaign promotion and evaluation.

See evalation below.

Risky Behaviors

In partnership with PDPHE’s Buell Foundation funding prioritizing pregnancy prevention and health education, CHIP partners are working to collect guardian, student, and teacher voice through data collection in order to explore comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education for Pueblo County youth. The 100-day CHIP sprint focuses on collecting and analyzing the data to communicate the results back out to the community.

The goal of the CHIP collaborative is to complete 1-2 sprints per health priority, per year. The focus of each sprint is determined by stakeholders and ongoing tracking of real-time local data.

Past Initiatives

ACEs Toolkit

Free resources for educators, public, and caregivers to raise awareness of what Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are.

Pueblo Food Project’s
Food Finder

Webpage consistently updated with local food pantries.

Barriers to Food Access Surveying

Survey results from 900 residents to inform agencies on access barriers.

Universal Food Access Flyer

In English and Español.

Additional Information

In 2024, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment worked with UCHealth Parkview Medical Center and CommonSpirit St. Mary Corwin Hospital to create a joint community health improvement plan to address the health priorities of

  • Mental health
  • Risky behaviors (including substance use)

The Pueblo County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) details how the community will address these issues from 2025 to 2028. The condensed report on methodology and planning frameworks is available in English and Español.

For questions about the plan or accessibility access, contact email [email protected].

2023-2027 Community Health Improvement Plan

During 2021-2022, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment worked with community partners and members to create a community health improvement plan to address the 2023-2027 priorities of

The Pueblo County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) details information on what the community will do to address these issues from 2023-2027. Work plans with specific objectives, activities, and timelines will be updated annually to reflect progress, new opportunities and to address barriers that arise.

For questions about the plan, contact email [email protected].

During 2017, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment worked with community partners and members to create a community health improvement plan to address the 2018-2022 priorities of

The Pueblo County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) details information on what the community will do to address these issues from 2018-2022. Work plans with specific objectives, activities, and timelines will be updated annually to reflect progress, new opportunities and to address barriers that arise. Work plans for 2019 are available to view for Behavioral Health and Obesity.

For questions about the plan, contact email [email protected]. 

 

Successes:

2018 CHIP obesity infographic

 

2018 CHIP Behavioral Health Infographic

 

 


The top health priorities identified by the community to be addressed from 2013-2017 were

  • obesity
  • teen and unintended pregnancies

The Community Health Improvement Plan 2013-2017 states how the plan was created and year one activities. The Success documents contain progress updates on the priorities.
 

2013 - 2017 Successes

2015 Successes

2014 Successes