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About Community Health Innovation Regions (CHIRs) 

A Community Health Innovation Region (CHIR) is a unique model for improving the wellbeing of a region and reducing unecessary medical costs through collaboration and systems change. CHIRs engage a broad group of stakeholders to identify and address factors that affect residents’ health, such as housing, transportation, and food insecurity, as well as access to high-quality medical care. The CHIR model creates a neutral space for partners to unite around a common vision, aligning their objectives and services to meet the needs of the community. The result is a community that is purposeful in its response to residents’ needs, creating conditions that meaningfully support an individual’s ability to have a higher, more productive quality of life.

There are five CHIRs in Michigan working to improve population health.

Background: The Statewide Innovation Model (SIM) and MDHHS

In 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded Michigan $70 million over four years to test and implement an innovative model for delivering and paying for healthcare in the state. The award, made through the CMS State Innovation Model (SIM) initiative, was based on a plan submitted by the State in 2014 called “Reinventing Michigan’s Health Care System: Blueprint for Health Innovation.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) leads the state’s SIM initiative and has organized its work under three main umbrellas: Population Health, Care Delivery, and Technology. Community Health Innovation Regions, or CHIRs (pronounced “shires”), which are intended to build community capacity to drive improvements in population health, form the foundation of the Population Health component of the SIM initiative. 

MDHHS has created a comprehensive summary and infographic to provide an overview of the SIM initiative’s progress and components.