Community Health Initiative of the Petaluma Area (CHIPA)

The Community Health Initiative of the Petaluma Area (CHIPA) is an Advisory Committee of the Petaluma Health Care District (PHCD) Board of Directors and a local chapter of Health Action.

 

CHIPA seeks to provide leadership in identifying community health priorities and taking action to engage in policy, system and environmental change to improve local health. This is accomplished through collaboration and partnerships with key community, health care and business leaders, local capacity building, and alignment with Health Action goals.

 

CHIPA is guided by the five tenets of the Collective Impact approach to achieve lasting improvements in the health of our community. 

 

 

What is Health Action?

Health Action's vision is that Sonoma County is a healthy place for all residents to live, work and play. The mission of Health Action is to mobilize community partnerships and resources to achieve equity and improve health for all in Sonoma County.

Health Action Chapters like CHIPA are harnessing the power of place. To learn more about Health Action Chapters,
click here.

 

 

What are the Priorities of CHIPA?

 

PHCD focuses on five community health priority areas based on the greatest needs of our community: 1) access to health services, 2) mental health and substance abuse, 3) heart health and healthy food consumption, 4) educational attainment and early childhood education (Cradle to Career), and 5) housing affordability and equity.

 

CHIPA works to address three main priorities:

 

Heart Health

Promote efforts that address cardiovascular health, obesity, food insecurity and access to healthy food, and increase opportunities for active living in the community.

 

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Increase awareness of mental health prevalence and services, lead efforts around community resiliency and education on trauma-informed practices, and address and reduce substance abuse and addiction.

 

Cradle to Career

Work to ensure every child enters kindergarten ready to succeed, every child is supported in and out of school, and every young adult is prepared for and completes the highest level of education or training to achieve career readiness.

 

To learn more about CHIPA or our work groups, please contact Ben Spierings at bspierings@phcd.org or (707) 285-2143 x134.

 

 

Want to Get Involved?

 

CHIPA has more than 100 members representing a diverse cross-sector of our community. Current members include: local nonprofits and service providers, schools, early childhood educators, Sonoma County employees, health care providers, business leaders, police, city officials, farmers and most importantly, community residents.

 

Join us at an upcoming meeting!

 

 

 

CHIPA Youth Members

 

The experiences, knowledge and connections of our young people are critical to our collective understanding of the health of our community. CHIPA Youth Members are active participants in CHIPA and its Work Groups. They bring a powerful perspective to our work and propose unique ideas for addressing needs and supporting assets in our community. In addition, CHIPA Youth Members gain valuable leadership experience, make connections to local industry leaders, and learn alongside their CHIPA Adult Ally.