About the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP)
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Overview
The Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) was developed in response to the 2007 Minnesota Legislature's request to develop a plan for statewide health promotion to address the rising cost of health and health care in our state. SHIP, which is an expanded version of the Steps to a HealthierMN model, will help Minnesotans live longer, better, healthier lives by reducing the burden of chronic disease. After being presented to numerous legislative committees and the Governor’s Health Care Transformation Task Force in fall 2007, SHIP was written into the legislative bill calling for overall health care reform in Minnesota.
Community health boards and tribal governments were invited to apply for competitive SHIP grants in spring 2009. Grantees will be required to create community action plans, assemble community leadership teams and establish partnerships. To improve the health of Minnesotans, grantees will utilize policy, systems and environmental changes in four settings: schools, work sites, health care and community. SHIP efforts will focus on obesity (through physical inactivity and unhealthy eating) and tobacco as the key risk factors to target interventions. By focusing on those risk factors, SHIP will address the top three preventable causes of illness and death in the United States.
The program will be evaluated at both the state and local level to ensure progress is made toward a set of measurable outcomes.
For more information on SHIP, contact Diane Lauren at diane.lauren@state.mn.us or 651-201-5445.