Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health works with Community and Partners to improve Health and achieve Public Health Accreditation

By Ken Luchterhand



To identify health concerns among the population and update their Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), Department of Health staff are seeking the assistance of community members and public health partners.
On Wednesday, July 25, a public meeting was held at the Skyline Golf Course in Black River Falls in an effort to gather that needed community feedback. About 45 people were in attendance.
“The reason behind the effort is to engage community members, coalition members, community partners, and Ho-Chunk leadership in public health efforts to improve the community’s health,” said Environmental Health Program Manager Pam Thunder. Attendees at this year’s meeting included representatives from Black River Memorial Hospital, Jackson County Public Health, the Boys and Girls Club, UW-Extension, Together for Jackson County Kids, Black River Falls School District, Wisconsin Department of Public Health, Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Labor, District 1 Community Center, AMI of Wisconsin, and several Tribal community members.
At the event, attendees split into work groups to discuss the four health priority areas that were chosen through the Community Health Assessment (CHA) completed in 2013. The Department of Health distributed a CHA survey at several community meetings in 2011 to collect community data and generate a final report. From this report, the community identified four health priority areas that require additional focus. Those four areas are:
1. Decrease obesity with a focus on children and parents.
2. Decrease the number of smoking pregnant women.
3. Increase access to care for addictions.
4. Decrease the number of motor vehicle-related injuries and deaths.
 “We asked the work groups to gauge the successes and challenges in each of the health priority areas and determine if goals in those areas have been met or if there are opportunities for improvement,” Thunder said. “It is important to know if the needs of the community are changing and if we are meeting those needs. Getting direct feedback is essential for health improvement planning.”
The CHIP process also includes people from other Ho-Chunk Nation Executive Departments so they can work together to develop action plans and improve health outcomes collectively for Tribal members. 
Having safe homes, neighborhoods, roads, green spaces, clean water and air, healthy foods, access to high-quality education, connection to culture, and connection to the community all impact the overall health of Tribal members. The basis of health is in the community we live in and surround ourselves with, so we must look beyond just clinical care to the social determinants that affect the entire Ho-Chunk population. 
“It’s important to include people from other departments to work together – to break those silos,” Thunder said. “We extended an invitation to each executive director to get input from all entities of the Nation.”
Activities like the CHIP planning meeting are also important for Public Health Accreditation, which the Department of Health is currently pursuing through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). To become accredited, PHAB will assess documentation submitted by the Department of Health based on a nationally-recognized set of standards and measures. Following that, a board of officials known as Site Visitors will visit the Ho-Chunk Health Care Center to observe and evaluate its public health practices.
For those unfamiliar with what public health is, its primary focus is to preserve and improve the health of entire communities. Whereas healthcare providers typically focus on treating individuals after they are sick or injured, public health professionals work to prevent population-wide health problems before they can happen through community outreach and education, policy work, and research.
“We’ve been working towards Public Health Accreditation since 2010 and are hoping to finish the process by 2019,” Thunder said. “Currently, there are no accredited Tribes in Wisconsin but we hope to lead the way for others to achieve accreditation in Indian Country not only in Wisconsin, but throughout the United States. Tribal health departments are innovative and, in many respects, leaders in public health efforts, which the accreditation process showcases.”
The Community Health Assessment and the Community Health Improvement Plan, both of which are requirements of the accreditation process, can be found on the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health website. A new community health assessment survey was distributed at General Council in 2017. The data is currently being analyzed and compiled to generate the next CHA and CHIP for 2019-2024.



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