Refreshing the Arizona Health Improvement Plan to reflect progress made, set goals for the next two years

Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is excited to announce we have published the 2024-2025 update to the Arizona Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP).

The AzHIP provides a structure to collectively improve the health of communities and individuals throughout Arizona. The AzHIP 2021-2025 plan is now in the fourth year of its five-year implementation period.

The AzHIP is bigger than ADHS alone. The plan’s development and implementation is community informed, data- driven, and includes participation by a broad set of community partners. This is Arizona’s Health Improvement Plan.

The AzHIP includes five priorities: health equity, social determinants of health, mental well-being, rural and urban underserved populations, and pandemic recovery and resiliency. All of the priorities were updated, except for the pandemic recovery and resiliency priority, which was published more recently.

The plan was refreshed to reflect our collective progress and to clarify the actions that can be taken over the final two years of the plan. Metrics that align with the national Healthy People 2030 goals were also added to help us measure progress as we move forward.

Actions identified in the plan reflect the commitment of many partner organizations. The AzHIP Steering Committee provides the guidance necessary to ensure the AzHIP reflects high-impact actions, while the implementation teams ensure the work is completed within each priority. To see when these groups meet, check our calendar for upcoming events.

The work of the AzHIP is not possible without the contributions of numerous partners, especially those who have taken action across the state to support the various strategies.

You can stay up-to-date on our progress through the ADHS AzHIP webpage and you can subscribe to the AzHIP quarterly newsletter. You can also reach out to the AzHIP program by emailing [email protected] with any questions you may have.

By bringing together partners to address important health issues, we not only continue to strengthen the state’s public health capacity and infrastructure, but we celebrate the fact that Arizonans are all connected. We are all public health.

We want to thank everyone who has participated in the AzHIP. Your contributions, time, and efforts enable us to improve the health and wellness of all Arizonans.

By Sheila Sjolander|2024-02-27T13:17:07-07:00February 27th, 2024|Preparedness, Prevention|Comments Off

About the Author: Sheila Sjolander

Sheila Sjolander is the Deputy Director of Public Health Services at the Arizona Department of Health Services. Sheila oversees the divisions of Prevention, Preparedness and Licensing, a team of more than 700 people working toward the vision of health and wellness for all Arizonans. Prior to her appointment as deputy director, she served as Assistant Director for Prevention Services for more than a decade. In her 22 years at ADHS, Sheila has been a dedicated leader in health improvement, strategic planning, and the state’s work to reduce opioid overdoses. She earned a Master of Social Work degree from Temple University, and received the Outstanding Achievement in Rural Women’s Health from the Arizona Rural Women’s Health Association in 2016, and the CHW Champion Award from the Arizona Community Health Worker Association in 2017.