The CHIP is a five-year plan that aligns community groups, schools, businesses and government agencies around shared health goals. The plan started in 2010, when the Health Department began digging into gaps in health outcomes countywide. The first CHIP created the Fairfax Food Council, which still does a lot of its own work today.
The second CHIP got disrupted by COVID-19. The newest plan is considered a reset.
ZIP Codes Matter More Than Diet Choice
About 80% of a person’s health comes from social and economic factors, like income, housing and neighborhood. Only about 20% comes from what happens at the doctor’s office, Kimura said. Some neighborhoods have busy roads, no sidewalks and no green space. Telling someone in that area to walk more is not a real solution.
“If you go into your doctor and they say what you really need to do to improve your health is to get active and start walking more, some people, even if they want to do that, it’s going to be much harder for them to do it in a safe environment," she said. “We put a lot of emphasis on making sure someone eats right or exercises, and if they don’t have good health after that, the fault and onus is on the individual. For this type of activity, we’re really looking at those system-level changes.”
Four Focus Areas
CHIP 3.0 sorts its work into four teams:
- Healthy Environment and Active Living. This team works on safer sidewalks, better lighting, pedestrian crossings, bike paths and trails. The goal is to make it easier to be active no matter where you live.
- Promoting Behavioral Health. This group covers mental health, well-being, substance use and suicide prevention.
- Healthy Eating and Food Access. The Fairfax Food Council leads this area. The team is working on a pantry network that stocks culturally familiar foods and on placing SNAP ambassadors at community sites to help people apply for food benefits.
- Healthcare Access and Use. This area was in the first plan, dropped out of the second and reintroduced in the third. The team brings together federally qualified health centers, Inova, free clinics such as the Culmore Clinic and others to share data and work more efficiently.
Shaped by the Community
The plan came about as teams went into neighborhoods with the largest health gaps and asked people what they needed. After listening, teams went back out to dig into the reasons behind each problem. If fresh produce is the issue, is it the price? Or is it that no one can get to the store?
“We share some of those different outcomes we’re seeing in the health sector and then ask communities: Does this resonate with you?” Kimura said. “What part of this are you seeing, that is really part of your daily life?" she said. "You may think, 'OK, well, we just have to provide fresh vegetables at a grocery store, but understand that maybe they don’t even have transportation to get [to the store],” Kimura said. “That might be one of the barriers they’re facing.”
Four themes came up in every group: the stigma people face around health issues, the high cost of living in the region, trouble finding resources in a county the size of Fairfax County, and simply not knowing what is already out there.
How to Get Involved
Kimura called the CHIP a living document: If community members bring new ideas, the plan can shift with them.
Residents can join a priority team or sign up with the Partnership for a Healthier Fairfax or the Fairfax Food Council via a form on the CHIP webpage.
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