State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP)

The 2013-2017 State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) has been finalized, and implementation will begin soon.

Implementation teams for each of the six priorities will be recruited in the next two months. Partners who were identified in the planning process will receive an invitation to join the implementation teams, but we are also welcoming other interested parties.

The six priorities in the 2013-2017 SHIP are:

• Immunization 
• Obesity 
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
• Tobacco Use 
• Educate, Inform and Empower the Public 
• Mobilize Community Partnerships 

The implementation teams will be asked to focus on one or more of the objectives, and strategies in the plan, and may choose to work on all or part of those strategies.

Team members will help develop a work plan, identify commitments that they or their organization can make towards implementation, and then meet quarterly to provide progress updates and suggest new partnerships and or revisions to the work plan.

The plan can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/ship/index.shtml. If you are interested in participating in an implementation team, please contact Nancy Birkhimer at nancy.birkhimer@maine.govor 287-5716.

Viral hepatitis plan

On April 3, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Justice (DOJ), and Veterans Affairs (VA) released a 3-year update of Combating the Silent Epidemic of Viral Hepatitis: Action Plan for the Prevention, Care, & Treatment of Viral Hepatitis, which builds on the success of the nation's first comprehensive cross-agency action plan, released in 2011.   The updated Viral Hepatitis Action Plan builds on the foundation of and momentum generated by the original action plan and seeks to harness:

• New recommendations for health care providers regarding screening for hepatitis C;
• Promising new developments in treatments for hepatitis C;
• Mounting public awareness of and concern about hepatitis B and hepatitis C; and
• The expansion of access to viral hepatitis prevention, diagnosis, care, and treatment offered by the Affordable Care Act.

For more information: http://www.aids.gov/news-and-events/hepatitis/