SHDHD announces new Six-Year Community Health Improvement Plan
Launch the media gallery 1 playerPublic invited to October 3 Launch Event
Hastings, Nebraska. After more than a year of community assessment activities, public input, priority identification and plan development, the South Heartland District Health Department Board of Health announced today that it has approved a new six-year plan for improving public health in the region. South Heartland District Health Department serves Adams, Clay, Nuckolls and Webster Counties.
“This new community health improvement plan is a road map for how the health department and community partners will work together to make positive changes across the health district,” explained Sam Nejezchleb, President of the South Heartland District Board of Health.
The plan consists of three public health priorities, each with 2 primary objectives:
(1) Mental Wellbeing
a. Improve access to mental health care
b. Decrease prevalence of factors contributing to poor mental health outcomes
(2) Chronic Disease Conditions
a. Improve understanding and access to screening and prevention resources
b. Improve access to and navigation of the health system (options, services, costs, insurance)
(3) Senior Health
a. Improve access to resources to maintain successful independent living
b. Increase socialization and physical/social support
SHDHD executive director Michele Bever is grateful to community partners and residents for their many contributions to the process of community health assessment, priority-setting, and health improvement planning that resulted in the new plan. “We had excellent participation and input from the public and stakeholders throughout this process,” she said.
“We are thankful to everyone who completed a community health survey, participated in a focus group, submitted data or health information collected by your organization, served as an expert for one of the health topics, reviewed fact sheets about various health issues and concerns, helped us to rank the health concerns and choose priorities, or participated in work groups that defined how we will address the new health priorities and objectives,” Bever said.
Putting the plan in motion comes next. The health department has scheduled a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Launch Event on October 3. Bever invites “representatives from communities and organizations to join us at the Launch Event as we identify our first action steps and how we will measure our progress.”
The Launch Event will include an introduction to the strategies for each priority, an opportunity to decide where individuals or organizations would like to contribute, and an explanation of how the CHIP implementation will be coordinated over the next 5 years.
Interested individuals may register for the launch event:
What: Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Launch Event
Date: Friday, October 3, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: ESU-9 Training Room, 5807 Osborne Dr W, Hastings, NE 68901
Register Here by October 1: https://nalhd.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bji3EwO4NQYPPo2
The 2025-2030 South Heartland Community Health Improvement Plan adopted by the Board of Health on September 24, 2025, may be viewed at the SHDHD website: www.southheartlandhealth.ne.gov. Have questions or need more information? Contact South Heartland District Health Department 402- 462-6211.
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