A mascot named Chippy, and what it takes to make public health planning stick

Community health assessments are dense by nature. Years of data collection, stakeholder interviews, priority-setting sessions, and a document that most residents will never open. The work matters enormously. Getting people to engage with it is a separate problem entirely.

Summit County solved that problem with a mascot.

At the Utah Public Health Association annual conference, held at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, CV Strategies presented alongside Summit County Utah Epidemiologist Nancy Porter on the county’s Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan. Both are multi-year efforts built on rigorous data and sustained partnership with the community they serve.

Nancy is an exceptional scientist. She is also the creative force behind “Chippy,” the CHIP mascot, who turned a technical planning process into something residents could recognize, follow, and enjoy. That instinct is rare among people trained in epidemiology, and it changes what a plan can accomplish.

The week ended with the Summit County Health team presenting results and progress to the county council, where the #CVStratPack received an unexpected shout-out, along with the design work of Lynn Oliva. Recognition is never assumed and always appreciated.

Summit County is doing public health work other communities should be studying.