What makes a healthy community?

One could ask 20 different citizens and get 20 different perspectives. It is a question that the DuPage County Health Department has been seeking the answers to since its inception in 1945. In 1998, the search for the answers intensified with internal reorganization, with community task forces scrutinizing local mental health needs, and with the launch of the second Illinois Project for the Local Assessment of Needs. Asking “What makes a healthy community?” was also the common thread as the Health Department continued to provide leadership in the Healthy DuPage movement. These initiatives and others resulted in renewed and intensified efforts to capture the consensus of all of the residents of DuPage County.

IPLAN, Healthy DuPage

The year 1998 marked the initial thrust of the second Illinois Project for the Local Assessment of Needs or IPLAN. The DuPage Health Planning Council (an independent voluntary body made up of staff from the DuPage hospitals, from behavioral health and human service agencies, and of private citizens), was tapped to serve as the Community Health Committee to oversee IPLAN. Key personnel from the Health Department began organizing and analyzing data to identify priorities within six categories. These categories are chronic conditions, environmental health, infectious disease, injury, maternal child health and mental health. Newly appointed Planning Director Dr. James C. Hagen is overseeing the monumental project.

IPLAN is required every five years of all local health departments for certification by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The goal of IPLAN is to assure the identification of and response to specific local health needs. The first IPLAN was completed in 1994.

Healthy DuPage is a grassroots initiative to improve the overall wellbeing and health of DuPage residents. The year’s Healthy DuPage activities began in January with a design conference that developed the visioning and strategic planning process. It culminated in a community-wide visioning event with about 150 in attendance.

“Both IPLAN and Healthy DuPage are community-driven processes that will help us identify and plan for the health needs of the 21st century,” said Executive Director Dr. David R. McNutt. “Both initiatives ask hard questions and demand thoughtful answers on unmet needs, health priorities, and the vision for the future. Both deal with the complex physical, social, economic and environmental aspects of the lives of DuPage residents. Both are aimed at achieving measurable results through the collaborative efforts of individuals and organizations involved.”

The IPLAN that was completed in 1994 identified four health priorities: maternal child health; breast, lung and colorectal cancer; youth violence; and heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. It is expected that IPLAN 1999 will yield eight or ten priorities.

Healthy DuPage seeks to examine tough quality of life issues for everyone. It is part of an international movement dramatically changing the way communities interact, it addresses crosscutting issues and unites individuals and organizations.

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