This CHIP is a product of the Schneck Medical Center Community Health Needs Assessment, a Community Conversation event, and many workgroup and taskforce meetings. As a result of the latter, the significant needs in Jackson County were identified as: Access to Care, Tobacco and Substance Use, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight, and Mental Health. The CHIP’s goals and strategies address these needs by building partnerships with organizations and leaders established in the community who influence the environment of health in Jackson County

Barnes, Priscilla

Daugherty, Bethany

Marshall, Molly

Pope, Katherine

Ruano, Arissa

Zabor, Susan

IUScholarWorks

2021
Jackson County
Community Health
Improvement Plan
This report was prepared by Schneck Medical Center, the Healthy 
Jackson County Coalition, Indiana University School of Public 
Health, and the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement 
2
Dear Community Members,
We are pleased to present to you Jackson County’s 2021 Community Health 
Improvement Plan (CHIP). 
This CHIP is a product of the Schneck Medical Center Community Health Needs 
Assessment, a Community Conversation event, and many workgroup and taskforce 
meetings. As a result of the latter, the significant needs in Jackson County were 
identified as: Access to Care, Tobacco and Substance Use, Nutrition, Physical Activity 
and Weight, and Mental Health. The CHIP’s goals and strategies address these needs by 
building partnerships with organizations and leaders established in the community who 
influence the environment of health in Jackson County. 
We are grateful for the many organizations that provided feedback and were active 
participants in this process. We hope that the strategies presented in the CHIP result in 
stronger partnerships among local organizations while influencing health behavior at 
individual and organizational levels.
 
Sincerely, 
Susan Zabor, MBA, 
MSN, RN, CSSBB
VP Clinical and Provider 
Management
Chief Quality Officer
Schneck Medical Center
Molly Marshall, MS, 
RDN, LD 
HHS Extension Educator
Purdue Extension-Jackson 
County
Bethany Daugherty, 
MS, RDN, LD
Healthy Jackson County 
Coordinator
Schneck Medical Center
3
A Community Health Improvement Plan is a living 
document that not only outlines the working plan 
to improve health but serves as a way to assign 
responsibility, offers a system for accountability and 
progress check-ins, as well as a way to share updates 
with the community. A CHIP can bring community 
organizations, service providers, and citizens 
together in an effort to reach a common goal. 
A CHIP uses Community Health Needs Assessment 
(CHNA) data to identify priority issues, develop 
and implement strategies for action and establish 
accountability to ensure measurable community 
health improvement (National Association of 
County and City Health Officials, 2018). The CHIP 
process brings together residents and stakeholders 
to identify and address the health needs of a 
community.
WHAT IS A CHIP?
4
Healthy Jackson County (HJC) is a 
partnership between Schneck Medical 
Center and local organizations that 
desire to reach beyond hospital walls to 
create and sustain a culture of wellness 
in Jackson County. HJC was formed 
in 2011 by a group of Jackson County 
residents and health professionals 
interested in improving the health of 
the community. For several years, HJC 
focused on childhood obesity prevention. 
In 2016, HJC worked closely with 
Purdue University Cooperative Extension 
on a Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention Obesity Prevention Grant. 
 
This two-year grant funded projects 
such as: Muscatatuck Trail Signage, 
Downtown Seymour Crosswalk Signage, 
Crothersville Parks Improvements, Boys 
and Girls Club and Girls, Inc. Gardens, 
Seymour Bike Lanes, Brownstown Safe 
Routes to School, Walk Your City Signs, 
and many others. When this grant 
ended, HJC leadership did not want the 
momentum to stop and asked Schneck 
Medical Center (SMC) to become the 
backbone organization for HJC. In 2019, 
HJC adopted the Collective Impact 
model for the coalition with SMC as its 
backbone organization and organized 
three workgroups – Improving Nutrition, 
Increasing Physical Activity, and 
Decreasing Tobacco Use. 
All of these workgroups were in the 
process of determining their plan of work 
and setting goals when the COVID-19 
pandemic began in 2020. SMC leadership 
recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic 
was disproportionately affecting 
the Hispanic community, and HJC 
established a Hispanic Health Taskforce. 
At this same time, coalition leaders 
were in conversation with the Indiana 
University Center for Rural Engagement 
about creating the Jackson County 
Community Health Improvement Plan 
(CHIP). 
The coalition felt a CHIP would be a 
great tool to expand partnerships within 
the community, develop workgroup and 
taskforce goals, and track accountability. 
The coalition has spent over six months 
working with Dr. Priscilla Barnes from 
the IU School of Public Health and her 
colleagues to bring the CHIP to life. Over 
55 community partners have participated 
in the development of this CHIP, all of 
which was completed virtually during this 
pandemic year. We are excited to share this 
plan with the community and continue to 
improve the health of Jackson County. 
CHNA data were presented to over 50 
community partners during a Community 
Conversation in November 2020 and 
eight smaller, follow-up conversations 
were conducted in December 
2020-February 2021. 
CHIP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
5
These conversations led to five 
priority areas identified as the 
most important to address in order 
to strengthen community health 
infrastructure and improve health 
and wellness of Jackson County 
residents: 
 
• Substance use
• Mental health
• Nutrition
• Physical activity
• Access to care 
The coalition developed goals, 
objectives, tasks, outputs, and 
outcomes from each priority to 
guide implementation and monitor 
progress for a two-year period. 
The coalition identified local 
organizations to ensure ongoing 
facilitation of information sharing 
and coordination of tasks. All 
Jackson County organizations are 
encouraged to identify one or more 
priorities that align with their 
personal or organization mission. 
University partnerships from IU 
Bloomington (Center for Rural 
Engagement and School of Public 
Health) and Purdue University 
(Purdue Extension) will coordinate 
assessment and evaluation 
activities as well as community 
engaged research initiatives that 
measure the implementation of 
goals and objectives.
DEVELOPMENT 
TIMELINE
2011
Healthy Jackson County was 
established
2016–2018
Jackson County awarded CDC 
Obesity Prevention Grant
2019
• SMC becomes backbone 
organization to HJC
• Three workgroups established: 
Improving Nutrition, 
Increasing Physical Activity, 
and Decreasing Tobacco Use
• CHNA released
2020
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Hispanic Health Taskforce 
established
• Community Conversation to 
share CHNA priorities
• Workgroups meet to determine 
CHIP goals, objectives and 
strategies.
2021
• CHIP released
6
Schneck Medical Center (SMC) performed a CHNA 
in 2018 to determine the health needs of the local 
community and develop an implementation plan to 
outline and organize how to meet those needs. Data 
were gathered from multiple secondary sources to 
build an accurate picture of the current community 
and its health needs. Additionally, a survey of a select 
group of local experts was performed to review the 
prior CHNA and provide feedback, and to ascertain 
whether the previously identified needs were still a 
priority. Then, a second survey was distributed to the 
same group that reviewed the data gathered from the 
secondary sources and determined the Significant 
Health Needs for the community. The 2018 CHNA 
will guide the Community Health Improvement Plan 
(CHIP). 
For the purpose of the CHIP, substance use and 
mental health were combined. Physician affordability 
and accessibility were combined under “Access to 
Care.” These mergers came as a result of community 
conversations and key informant interviews. 
The following pages include a brief summary of the 
status of significant health needs outlined in the 2018 
CHNA, after merging topics.
SUMMARY OF THE 2018 COMMUNITY  
HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT
“A Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) is a systematic process involving the 
community to identify and analyze community health needs” 
—Center for Rural Health, 2019
SIGNIFICANT 
HEALTH NEEDS
Substance 
use
Mental
health
Nutrition
Physical 
activity
Access to 
care
7
This broad overarching topic area can be broken into many smaller subtopics. Substance 
use can include overuse, misuse, and hazardous use of substances including alcohol, 
tobacco, and prescription and illicit drugs. Mental health can refer to mental health 
disorders and psychological and emotional well-being. Overall, these sections of the 
CHIP aim to build capacity within our community organizations to address these issues. 
SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL HEALTH
An estimated 
22%  
of adults in Jackson 
County smoke.
Indiana Department of Health Tobacco 
Prevention & Cessation, The State of 
Tobacco Control - Jackson County, 
2019.
IS MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE A PROBLEM IN THE COMMUNITY?
94%
89%
SUBSTANCE USE
MENTAL HEALTH
Yes No
8
NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 
For the purposes of this CHIP, Nutrition and Physical Activity were combined in the 
first community conversation. In subsequent conversations, these topics were discussed 
separately in the “Improving Nutrition” and “Increasing Physical Activity” HJC 
Workgroups. Goals were developed for both “Nutrition” and “Physical Activity,” which 
you will find later in this report.
When asked in a survey, community members reported they felt nutrition, physical 
activity and weight were a:
Based on reported physical activity intensity, frequency and duration over the past 
month, 38.9% of SMC Service Area adults are found to be “insufficiently active” or 
“inactive” (2018 CHNA).
Jackson County 
obesity rates mirror 
Indiana’s rates (33% in 
Jackson County, 35% 
in Indiana).
National Center for Chronic Disease 
Prevention and Promotion, 2019
Major issue (54.9%)
Moderate issue (32.1%)
Minor issue (10%)
Not an issue (3%)
9
This broad overarching topic area includes many different kinds of access, including but 
not limited to cost of prescriptions, inconvenient office hours, cost of a doctor’s visit, and 
ease of getting an appointment. 
A total of 45.7% of adults surveyed reported some type of difficulty or delay in obtaining 
healthcare services in the past year. For the purposes of this CHIP, this topic was 
discussed in the Hispanic Health Taskforce meetings. This decision was made as a result 
of community conversations and the unique barriers to healthcare that Spanish and 
Chuj-speaking members of our community face.
ACCESS TO CARE
POPULATION WITH AND WITHOUT INSURANCE
Insured (92%)
Uninsured (8%)
66% 
of community 
members 
reported access 
to health 
services as 
either a major 
or moderate 
problem.
10
GOALS, OBJECTIVES & STRATEGIES
11
G
O
A
L Strengthen local infrastructure necessary to reduce substance use and 
improve mental health.
O
B
JE
C
T
IV
ES
 A
N
D
 S
T
R
AT
EG
IE
S
Decrease adults and youth tobacco use rates by 1% by June 30, 2023.
• Convene an active Decreasing Tobacco Use Workgroup (DTUW).
• Complete Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (TPC) Community 
Grant application.
• Develop partnership with Jackson County employers to serve on DTUW 
workgroup.
• Participate in Standardized Tobacco Assessment of Retail Settings 
(STARS).
• Distribute TPC Health Systems Change assessment.
Increase connectivity among organizations in Jackson County that 
provide substance use education, treatment and prevention by 
December 2022.
• Engage all community organizations that provide substance use 
programing.
• Complete a crosswalk of community organizations that provide substance 
use programs.
• Complete Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Community Grant.
• Develop partnership with Jackson County Drug Free Council.
• Develop partnership with Jackson County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
• Participate in Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction County 
Client Board.
Increase awareness of mental health services among Jackson County 
residents by 10% by 2022.
• Develop partnership with Mental Health America of Jackson County.
• Develop partnership with Jackson County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
• Engage all mental health community partners that provide mental health 
programming.
• Expand distribution of current mental health resource brochure.
• Coordinate activities and local community calendar to highlight mental 
health awareness observances.
SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL HEALTH
12
G
O
A
L
Improve diet quality among Jackson County residents.
O
B
JE
C
T
IV
E
 A
N
D
 S
T
R
AT
EG
IE
S
Increase connectivity across nutrition programming among partner 
organizations by 75% by December 30, 2022.
• Convene an active Improving Nutrition workgroup.
• Engage all community organizations providing nutrition programming.
• Complete a crosswalk of nutrition programming provided in Jackson 
County.
• Market nutrition programming through social media.
• Engage worksites and local industry to share program information.
• Collectively determine shared outcome measures to evaluate programs 
and consistently improve programming. 
• Market nutrition toolkit on HJC website and social media.
• Seek potential partnerships with healthcare providers and other 
community organizations to improve nutrition programming in Jackson 
County.
Strengthen capacity of local food pantries by 75% by December 30, 
2022.
• Convene Feeding the Community coalition and incorporate into HJC 
Improving Nutrition Workgroup.
• Complete assessment of Jackson County food pantries.
• Engage with community partners in Jackson County to encourage support 
of 4-H Little Food Pantries, Sheds For You, and Blessings in a Backpack.
• Complete the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Prioritizing Food 
Security Solutions (PFSS) toolkit.
• Use findings from Prioritizing Food Security Solutions toolkit to advocate 
for system changes to reduce food insecurity.
• Continue to create and promote Jackson County Food Assistance 
brochure in English and Spanish (web-based and paper copies).
• Create a food insecurity hub on HJC website to share food assistance 
brochure, local food insecurity data, and tangible ways for community 
groups to help.
NUTRITION
13
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
G
O
A
L Foster an environment where Jackson County residents choose to engage 
in physical activity.
O
B
JE
C
T
IV
E
 A
N
D
 S
T
R
AT
EG
IE
S
Increase leisure activity among Jackson County residents by 5% by 
December 30, 2022.
• Conduct an assessment of the built environment.
• Convene key stakeholders in physical activity for community 
conversations.
• Continue to collaborate with DNR to provide guided hikes at the Forestry 
in Fall.
• Collaborate with Muscatatuck Wildlife Refuge, Starve Hollow, and 
Jackson Washington State Forestry to plan a Youth Hiking Series.
• Develop a community calendar to market physical activity opportunities 
in Jackson County such as 5Ks, fitness classes, races, etc.
• Host a downtown scavenger hunt in collaboration with Seymour Main 
Street.
• Engage local industry in HJC and promotion of local physical activity 
opportunities.
• Promote and encourage use of IDOH Healthy Worksite Toolkit to local 
employers.
• Partner with Jackson County Visitors Center to coordinate a county-wide 
physical activity program.
• Seek grant funds for programming efforts.
14
G
O
A
L
Improve patient navigation in Jackson County.
O
B
JE
C
T
IV
E
 A
N
D
 S
T
R
AT
EG
IE
S
Improve accessibility to health-related services by 5% by December 30, 
2022. 
• Assess current navigation services available within the Jackson County 
community.
• Cultivate partnerships with additional health services, including but not 
limited to: Community Health Center of Jackson County, Jackson County 
WIC, and Jackson Co. Health Department.
• Grow relationships between community navigators and healthcare 
navigators.
• Identify volunteer community champions to assist with navigation.
• Maximize referrals to current navigation program infrastructure.
• Seek grant opportunities for a pilot patient navigator program. 
• Educate Hispanic/Latino community about healthcare options in Jackson 
County.
• Partner with Spanish translators and SMC Marketing to develop digital 
and social media content in Spanish.
• Engage Jackson County employers with HJC to identify and address 
health-related needs of employees.
G
O
A
L Improve cultural competence among HJC community partner 
organizations.
O
B
JE
C
T
IV
E
 A
N
D
 S
T
R
AT
EG
IE
S Improve attitudes and build skills to increase competencies in working 
with diverse populations.
• Form a cultural competence committee.
• Identify academic partnerships that may be able to provide and/or assist 
with training delivery.
• Review publicly available evidence-based cultural competence trainings.
• Identify and train workshop facilitators
• Implement trainings 
• Develop and conduct pre-and post-test measuring knowledge and policy 
changes
ACCESS TO CARE
15
How to get involved: 
If you wish to be involved in 
improving the culture of health 
in the community and being 
part of Healthy Jackson County, 
please e-mail bdaugherty@
schneckmed.org to learn when 
workgroups meet.
Please visit the Healthy Jackson 
County website to learn more 
about the coalition: https://
www.schneckmed.org/
community-wellness/healthy-
jackson-county/home/.
Produced in partnership with:
Anchor House, Boys & Girls Club, CenterStone, Foundations Family Medicine, Girls, 
Inc., Glick Properties & Jamestown Apartments, Human Services, Indiana Department 
of Child Services, Indiana FSSA Division of Mental Health & Addiction, Indiana 
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), Indiana Rural Health Association, 
Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement, Indiana University School of Public 
Health, Jackson County Health Department, Jackson County Visitors Center, Medora 
Community Schools, Mental Health America of Jackson County, Mi Casa, New Hope 
Services WIC, Purdue Cooperative Extension, Purdue Extension Nutrition Education 
Program, Juntos 4-H, Schuler Bauer & Blessings in a Backpack, Seymour Community 
Schools, Seymour Crossfit, Seymour Parks & Rec, SIHO Schneck Medical Center, 
Schneck Foundation, Southeast Indiana Addiction Center, St. Ambrose Hispanic 
Ministry, Su Casa, The Tribune, Thrive Alliance, Turning Point, and Jackson County 
United Way. Photo acknowledgment: Jackson County Visitors Center
Join us to improve 
Jackson County’s 
health!
These goals are achievable with your help. 
Contact the Healthy Jackson County Coalition 
at bdaugherty@schneckmed.org to 
connect and make a difference.


Jackson County Community Health Improvement Plan

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