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Community Health Policy & Planning
The Peoria City/County Health Department participates in community-wide population health planning to identify and prioritize health needs and quality of life issues, map and leverage community resources, and form effective partnerships to implement health improvement strategies in Peoria County.
Multiple organizations and sectors formed the Partnership for a Healthy Community to develop the Tri-county Community Health Needs Assessment and Plan for Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties with the identified strategic community health priority areas.
Identified priorities for 2020-2022:
- Healthy Eating and Active Living
- Cancer - Breast, Lung, and Colorectal
- Mental Health
- Substance Use
Identified priorities for 2017-2019:
- Behavioral Health
- Healthy Eating and Active Living
- Cancer - Lung and Breast
- Reproductive Health
Community Health Policy and Planning advances population health improvement and evaluates the impact of health issues in Peoria County. To support healthy community environments, we engage the public and community partners with actionable data to identify health needs and priorities, including those related to health disparity, health inequity, and social determinants of health.
We support partnerships and projects that offer a natural alignment between organizational priorities and community strategic health initiatives. Watch A Healthier America video (AVI).
Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities
Smoking tobacco is the single most important preventable cause of illness and death in the United States. The Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities program in Peoria County supports policy development for tobacco-free lifestyles, enforces the Smoke-free Illinois Act, and addresses lung cancer as a community health priority.
With a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health, we have a regional partnershp with Tazewell and Woodford County Health Departments, Hult Center for Healthy Living, Peoria Park District, and other local agencies to promote tobacco-free lifestyles.
Lear more about the Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities program.
CATCH: Coordinated Approach to Child Health
This 3-year project focused on a community-based collaborative to improve the health and well-being of children and families in Peoria by targeting obesity risk factors in youth and adults. Data showing high rates of obesity and other health risk factors in zip codes 61603 and 61605 prompted a collaborative effort with Hult Center for Healthy Living, Greater Peoria YMCA, and Gifts in the Moment Foundation.
The project targeting risk factors for obesity included physical activity and nutrition programs at schools, at after school sites, and at community locations servicing the targeted zip codes. Programs measured an increase in participation in physical activity, built skills in food shopping and nutrition, and promoted consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The 3-year pilot project ended in 2018 and now continues with sustainable policies in nutrition and physical activity throughout the community.
The City of Peoria was selected by Reinvestment Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to take part in the new Invest Health initiative. Invest Health is aimed at transforming how leaders from mid-size American cities work together to help low-income communities thrive - with specific attention to community features that drive health such as access to safe and affordable housing, places to play and exercise, and quality jobs.
Peoria Team comprises representatives from Peoria City/County Health Department, City of Peoria Community Development, Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, Peoria Public Schools, and Illinois Central College. Peoria Team seeks to leverage assets and funding to redirect them in a community-wide alignment of programs, projects, and policy efforts that will maximize economic, environmental, and social impacts.
Learn about the latest update to the planning collaborative’s cross-sector efforts to leverage funds to change systems of health through the built community. Watch this 3.5 minute local Invest Health video Building Healthy Communities.
Having health coverage provides more opportunities to get quality health care for all. Learn more about the Affordable Care Act, the Health Insurance Marketplace and SHOP, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.
Collective Impact for Maternal Child Health
City MatCH, the National Organization of Urban Maternal Child Health Leaders, hosted the Collective Impact Learning Collaborative for 10 urban health departments and their community teams. Each team developed a strong, diverse coalition to implement strategies to address Maternal and Child Health priorities at the community level, including introducing CenteringPregnancy.
CenteringPregnancy
The Reproductive Health workgroup of the Partnership for a Healthy Community used the Collective Impact approach to initiatiate CenteringPregnancy as a Communty Health Improvement Plan strategy to improve health outcomes for moms and babies and to reduce health disparities in pre-term births in Peoria.
CenteringPregnancy is prenatal care that provides a personal checkup with a provider while having learning and sharing time with other pregnant moms in a relaxed group setting. Sessions allow moms and providers to get to know each other. Moms are actively engaged in their own healthcare, are able to track the growth of the baby, and have the opportunity to provide and receive support from other women. Classes are held at several locations in the Peoria area.
To learn more about Centering Pregnancy benefits for moms, babies, and providers, visit the website www.CenteringPregnancyPeoria.com.
Other Community Health Policy Collaborations
- Regional Fresh Food Council Supporting healthy food systems in Central Illinois
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Community Health Policy & Planning
Phone: 309-679-6150