CHIPPEWA FALLS – On March 29, the United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley honored area businesses and individuals who have shown significant support for United Way and to the community at the Chippewa Valley Spirit Awards. This year, the Nonprofit Excellence Award was given to Chippewa Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) for their health initiatives to support healthy lifestyles and behaviors.
Accepting the award was Rhonda Brown, director of CHIP and division director, 3D Community Health: Body.Mind.Spirit, which is a program of HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals. Brown has led the CHIP program since 2000.
CHIP is a community endeavor hosted by HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls. In 1994, facilitated by St. Joseph’s Hospital, a committee of 25 concerned individuals representing schools, churches, businesses, health and medical facilities, senior citizens, government agencies and the public at large saw the potential to create a healthier Chippewa Falls. In 2000, the initiative was so successful that it was expanded to cover the entire Chippewa County.