Public Health Strategy

Vision

Healthy people building thriving communities.

Mission

The Winnebago County Health Department protects and promotes health through services,
partnerships, and equitable practices and policies so all can live their best life.

Strategic Planning

Staff and members of the leadership team and Board of Health participated in multiple activities related to updating WCHD’s strategic plan. Staff developed mission statements for their respective divisions; and the department developed a new mission and vision statement to better reflect the changing landscape of public health. Four strategic priorities emerged from the work accompanied by specific focus areas, goals and measurables. The priorities represent the commitment the department has to its staff, the community, the achievement toward organizational excellence and efforts related to sustainability and fiscal responsibility of the organization.

Priority 1: We will invest in our team members.

Focus areas include:

  • Staff Development

  • Workplace Culture

  • Workplace Safety and Wellness

Priority 2: We will invest in our community.

Focus areas include:

  • External Communication

  • Community Health Priorities

  • Emergency Preparedness

  • Engagement and Inclusion

  • Access to Health Care

Priority3: We will invest in achieving organizational excellence.

Focus areas include:

  • Accountability

  • Policy and Procedure Development

  • A Leader in Public Health

Priority 4: We will invest to become a sustainable organization.

Focus areas include:

  • Fiscal/Financial Sustainability

  • Workforce Continuity

2019 Planning Successes

Community Health Assessment (CHA)

Every three years WCHD engages in a community health assessment, a process by which information regarding the health of the community is collected, analyzed and reported. Community data, stories and other Information was collected, reviewed, analyzed and throughout 2018 and 2019 which will form the basis for WCHD’s 2020 Community Health Assessment.

Performance Management

WCHD was awarded one of 12 licenses across the state to serve as a performance management pilot site to develop dashboards for various public health topics. The project is a collaboration with the state health department and Clear Impact, a performance management software service whose work is based on the Results Based Accountability framework. Work continues into 2020 for the development of dashboards for multiple divisions within WCHD.

Youth of Color Report

WCHD in conjunction with Fit Oshkosh, a non-profit organization that provides race equity education and social justice advocacy, and Youth 2 Youth Advocates for Justice (Y2Y), a student organization at Oshkosh West High School, organized three community dialogues with youth in Winnebago County during the 2018-2019 school year. The purpose of these conversations was to hear from youth of color about the resources for, and obstacles to, living a healthy life in this community.

The conversations in these groups highlighted non traditional definitions of “health,” health behaviors and outcomes-usually revolving around topics of physical activity, nutrition, and access to health services- and instead discussed health issues related to the social determinants of health including racism, community safety, and lack of social support.

Customer Service Survey

During the summer of 2019, two Area Health Education Center (AHEC) interns worked to develop an online customer service survey for WCHD. This first iteration of the survey hopes to collect satisfaction information from the clients we serve.