b'What Is Vision 2020?Vision 2020 is a commitment to become the healthiest community in the nation by the year 2020. At its most What are the elements of fundamental level, Vision 2020 is a community change initiative designed to foster and sustain a positive culture of health throughout the 23 towns of Cheshire County.a successfulcommunity changeRecognizing that health is more than managing illness, the Vision 2020 Initiative both engages our community in changing the culture of health and supports our local health systems evolution from an emphasis on careinitiative?and cure of disease to one of promoting health and well-being. Individuals, families, neighborhoods, employers, schools, and organizations are all invited to join the in the process of becoming the healthiest community inCommunity Building: the nation by the year 2020. In this stage Vision 2020 fostersawareness and develops a groundswell Guided by the Council for a Healthier Community, Vision 2020 seeks to develop, support, and sustain people,of understanding about health.organizations, programs policies, and initiatives that contribute to a culture of health and well-being for all Common connections and valuesresidents of Cheshire County. are discovered and strengthened through dialogue; relationships and Vision 2020 is designed in three phases: partnerships begin to form.Phase I: Achieving Service Excellence.Assure ready access to primary care; make it easier for patients to communicate with providers; measure and continuously improve quality and services. Community Learning:In this stage Vision 2020 supportsPhase II: Leading the Way.Bring together community partnerships and resources and provide leadership toactive engagement, commitment become the nations healthiest community.and change. Personal and community Phase III: Transforming.Set an example for other communities to emulate and share expertise; become anvalues are recognized and integrated acknowledged leader in developing innovative approaches to community health improvement. into the decision-making processes for becoming healthier. Collaborations Primary responsibility for Phase I rests with Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock Keene (CMC/DHK).capitalize on shared knowledge toPhases II and III are guided by the Council for a Healthier Community. In January of 2009 the Council invitedaddress issues creatively andother interested community leaders to spend one year participating in Vision 2020 workgroups to further effectively.1explore the five target areas and measures and to introduce Vision 2020 to the Cheshire County community.Since then, nearly 50 community and Council members in the Vision 2020 workgroups have successfully re-fined working definitions of the goals, prioritized measurable indicators, identified current interventionsand gaps in community resources, and explored a variety of strategies for addressing the overarching goals of Vision 2020. The workgroups also made tremendous progress in connecting to the community. As a result of this year-long process, the work group members now share and can articulate a common understanding of the ideas, values, and behaviors of Vision 2020 and they have begun to enact the steps necessary to become the nations healthiest community.6 Engaging Our Community In Health88222_CMC2.indd 8 2/1/10 12:26 PM'