The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is bringing together communities across King County to address health inequities through collaboration, trust, and shared responsibility. Through this process, community members, organizations, and public health leaders are working side by side to identify what matters most and how to move forward together.
Over the spring and summer of 2025, a group of leaders representing more than 90 organizations and various community sectors, including education and economic development partners, community organizations, Native/Indigenous organizations, hospitals and health systems, community health centers, philanthropy, faith-based organizations, the King County Board of Health, and government, worked together to co-create the goals, objectives, actions, and measures of progress in this five-year plan. This inclusive process centered voices representing communities most affected by health inequities.
We sat down with three active partners in the CHIP development, John Kim with HealthierHere, Scott Pinkham with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and Cynthia Ricks-Maccotan with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. They reflected on what makes this CHIP process different, why community involvement matters, and how collective action can lead to meaningful change.
Centering Community Voices
Scott Pinkham shared how valuable the CHIP space has been for elevating the experiences of communities throughout King County. As a Native-led urban organization, United Indians of All Tribes often works in silos, focused on meeting the distinct needs of their community. CHIP has created an opportunity to break down those silos.
“What I’ve enjoyed about CHIP is being able to share the impacts on urban American Indian and Alaska Native people while also hearing what other communities are facing,” Scott said. “We all have unique challenges, but there are places where our experiences intersect. That’s where collaboration becomes powerful.”
The process also creates space to educate partners who may be less familiar with a specific community’s health needs. Scott emphasized that no single person can speak for an entire community, urban Native communities are diverse, with different needs and priorities, but CHIP provides a forum where those voices can be heard and respected.
Strengthening Partnerships Across King County
For Cynthia, CHIP represents an important milestone for King County. While healthcare systems are required to conduct CHIPs every three years, this is the first time Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) has led a countywide CHIP process. That matters in a place like King County, which is the fourth most geographically diverse county in the U.S. by topography.
“In hospitals, we often look at specific catchment areas,” Cynthia explained. “With CHIP, we’re looking across the entire county and asking how community members, wherever they live, can be involved.”
Creating safe, accessible spaces for participation has been a central focus. Meetings are offered in hybrid formats, with interpretation and sign language services available. For those who cannot attend regularly, there are multiple ways to share feedback, by email, text, or through trusted representatives who attend meetings more consistently.
“Involvement is valued, nurtured, and impactful,” Cynthia said. “Even if you can’t be in the room every time, your voice still matters.”
Relationship Building, Not a One-Time Process
CHIP is about more than planning, it’s about relationship building. Acknowledging past harm, rebuilding trust, and showing up consistently are critical to this work.
“This isn’t a one-and-done process,” Cynthia said. “It’s about creating partnerships that continue to grow over time.”
Scott and John echoed this sentiment, noting the importance of creating a safe space where everyone can be at the table. CHIP’s emphasis on accessibility and relationship-building has helped sustain participation and deepen engagement across communities.
Removing Barriers Instead of Navigating Them
A recurring theme in the discussion was the idea of removing barriers, rather than expecting communities to navigate systems not built for them.
“Often, we talk about how people can learn to navigate barriers,” Scott shared. “What if we focused on removing those barriers altogether? That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
This mindset extends to workforce development, for example, with community-based workers (CBWs). HealthierHere, one of CHIP’s partners, is focusing on building career pathways for CBWs, a broad term that includes community health workers, peers, doulas, and others with deep ties to the communities they serve. As a workforce, these workers are uniquely positioned to build the kind of trusting relationships that lead to successful navigation, case management, and connection of people to the resource where they can thrive.
Yet many of these roles are underpaid, grant-funded, or on stipend. “There’s a real imbalance between the value community-based workers bring and the compensation they receive,” John shared. “Livable wage careers are foundational to family stability and health.” CHIP is working to address wage issues like these.
The Power and Challenge of Collective Impact
CHIP is tackling what John described as “impossible problems,” complex issues with no single solution and no single organization that can solve them alone. Collective impact is messy and non-linear, requiring sustained shared purpose and commitment.
“What kept me coming back to CHIP was how thoughtful and inclusive the process felt,” John said. “There were more community leaders involved, and they stayed engaged. But with that comes responsibility, you’re not just here to give ideas. You have to stay in the dance.”
Maintaining momentum, sustaining buy-in, and supporting a smaller group to carry the work forward are ongoing challenges. Still, these leaders see Public Health’s convening power and the co-creation of the plan as critical strengths of the CHIP work.
“This work doesn’t feel real until it’s shared,” John said. “It’s only through collective action, across diverse perspectives, that we can make meaningful progress.”
How to Get Involved
CHIP is an open, evolving process and community partner participation is essential.
Learn more: kingcounty.gov/CHIP
Join an implementation workgroup: Employment & Income, Homelessness & Housing, or Relationship Building
Connect: Email communityhealthimprovementplan@kingcounty.gov to join our mailing list!
Originally published on March 9, 2026