Building a healthier Dakota County
The Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) builds thriving communities by using community-driven solutions, so everyone can live longer, healthier lives. SHIP's work focuses on the prevention of chronic conditions such as cancers, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
These conditions lead to decreased quality of life, premature death, health inequities and increased health care costs.
Ninety percent of the nation's health care costs are from chronic conditions. Most of those costs are preventable through surveillance, environmental approaches, health care system interventions and community programs linked with clinical services.
SHIP approach
SHIP works with the community to make the “healthy choice the easy choice." The partnership creates healthier environments where people live, work, learn, play and pray.
SHIP creates opportunities for every person to be the healthiest they can be. To achieve health equity, work focuses on efforts to address avoidable inequities, injustices and social causes of illness.
Dakota County Public Health has received funding from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) since 2009 for SHIP work focusing on four key areas:
SHIP creates reports to share progress and evaluations of program efforts.
SHIP helps community partners make sustainable change by supporting policy revisions, changing health behaviors, updating processes within the organization and creating environments to support health and well-being. Doing this creates sustainable and long-lasting impact. See the Minnesota Department of Health SHIP website.
Community engagement
Community engagement allows public health to carry out successful SHIP strategies. Dakota County and communities across the county, work together by:
- Exchanging knowledge and resources
- Developing community-driven projects
- Engaging in problem solving and decision making
Partnering together allows SHIP to identify strengths and challenges and develop better solutions.
Dakota County partners with:
- Community groups
- Schools
- Worksites
- Health care organizations
- Child care centers
If you or your organization would like to discuss how Dakota County could support you, please email marguerite.zauner@co.dakota.mn.us.