How do we improve the health and quality of life
in our communities across northern Michigan?

We begin with a Community Health Assessment.

Community Health Assessment

The MiThrive project brings diverse partners together to assess community needs and collaborate for community health improvement in the 31 counties of the Northern Michigan Public Health Alliance.
The 10 counties of the NMCHIR are included in this assessment.
MiThrive 4-step Process

The Four Assessments

After six months of collecting data, below is what we learned

HEALTH & COMMUNITY DATA

Major issues include:
  • Social & Community Context
  • Mental Health Injuries
  • Immunizations
  • Obesity & Chronic Disease Substance Use
  • Poverty & Food Insecurity
  • Access to Healthcare

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS INPUT

Improve services with:
  • More partner and residential participation in planning
  • Improved communication between community
    and partners
  • Use coordinated, comprehensive approach to
    community improvement planning
  • Align goals, strategies, and vision across organizations
  • Create a system to better capture constituent voice
  • Improve data sharing and communication

RESIDENTIAL
INPUT

Residents want:
  • Community Connectedness
  • Clean Natural Environment
  • Access to Healthy Food
  • Services to Meet Basic Needs
  • Opportunities for Physical Activity
  • Improved Transportation
  • Improved Community Infrastructure
  • Health Knowledge
  • More Available Medical Care Providers
  • More Affordable Healthcare
  • Accessible Insurance

FORCES OF CHANGE ASSESSMENT

Forces affecting our region:
  • Event: Legalization of Marijuana
  • Trend: Mental Health
  • Trend: Aging Population
  • Trend: Government Dysfunction
  • Trend: Opioid Crisis/Drugs/Vaping
  • Trend: Social Isolation/Need for Resilience
  • Trend: Discrimination, Harassment, Hate
  • Trend: Distrust of Information/News/Science
  • Trend: Mass Shootings
  • Trend: Threats to Water Quality
  • Factor: Rural/Urban Divide
  • Factor: Insufficient Wages

WE HAVE DATA.

MiThrive Report:

The Northern Michigan Community Health Innovation Region (NMCHIR) aligned with MiThrive to complete a comprehensive assessment of needs in Northern Michigan communities. We are excited to release the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment. In this report, we wanted to pinpoint the most pressing health issues in our communities and describe what more can be done to improve the well-being and health equity in the 10 county region. This report was developed with extensive cross-sector collaboration and community voice using the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process.

NOW WHAT?
We created a Community Health Improvement Plan.

MiThrive Framework:

We know that it takes all of us working together across sectors to improve community conditions that impact health across Northwest Michigan. By clarifying our shared priorities and desired outcomes in this Shared Outcomes Framework*, we aim to help answer the questions: what are we collectively working toward as a Northwest Michigan community, and how will we know if we’re making progress? Learn more at www.mi-thrive.org.

*A Shared Outcomes Framework is a best practice tool to communicate shared community priorities and to track progress toward goals, allowing for continuous improvement in the pursuit of equity. Our framework includes time-bound targets for six priority areas, themed within three system elements, and specifies metrics we can use to determine whether we’re on track for meeting our goals.

MiThrive Framework Webisode

An introduction to the MiThrive Outcomes Framework –  Webisode #1