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Summit County health department releases 2024 community health assessment and five-year CHIP
Summary
The county health department presented a 2024 Community Health Assessment with about 1,700 survey responses and a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) that prioritizes partnerships, food access and improving immunization coverage over the next five years.
The Summit County Health Department presented the results of its 2024 Community Health Assessment (CHA) and unveiled a five-year Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) that staff say is community-led and data-driven.
Deputy Director Kendra Bavitz introduced the work and thanked partners. Epidemiologist Nancy Porter said the CHA collected more than 1,700 survey responses — exceeding the team's power analysis target — and that respondents ranked outdoor recreation, environment and safety among top factors that make the county healthy. “We got, like, 1,700. We went over by 70%,” Porter said, noting the sample was representative across gender, ethnicity and geography and included strong participation from Hispanic residents.
The CHA also identified top areas needing improvement: affordable housing ranked first across the county; elder care and transportation concerns were also prominent. The CHIP sets three cross-sector priorities through 2030: strengthen partnerships to influence upstream social determinants of health; improve food and nutrition access; and increase immunization coverage to reduce vaccine-preventable disease. Bavitz said the CHIP will include measurable goals and a public dashboard so progress is transparent.
Council members praised the department’s outreach and asked for follow-up. Chris asked whether the county needs stronger work to increase childhood vaccination rates; Nancy said childhood vaccination exemptions had been rising and the county was monitoring measles cases closely. The health department committed to providing periodic updates to the council and to making the CHA data available for partners and grant work.
