All Rowan County priorities are addressed in the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). Click on the links below for Progress Made in 2024.

For the priority area Heathy Lifestyles see Progress in 2024 note tabs for each program below.

• WIC
• Rowan County DSS  
• Rowan Food and Farm Network
• Rowan Salisbury School System- Nutrition Services

For the priority area Mental Health see Progress in 2024 note tabs for each program below.

• Rowan County Department of Social Services
• Novant Behavioral Health

For the priority area Substance Use see Progress in 2024 note tabs for each program below.

• Rowan County Public Health HOPE Program

Since pervious years the leaded causes of death have changed slightly. 

2018-2022 NC Resident Race/Ethnicity and Sex-Specific Age-Adjusted Death Rates 

• Trust in Public Health Messaging  

• Vaccine Hesitancy  

• Communicable Diseases  

  • Respiratory Illness 

  • Sexually Transmitted Infections  

• Child and Adolescent Wellness 

  • Vaping  

  • Marijuana use  

  • Social Isolation  

  • Mental Health 

• Early Childhood Education 

  • Affordable childcare  

• Environmental Health  

  • Environmental Burden (Air quality, pollution, and built environment)  

• Housing  

  • Affordable housing 

Healthy Lifestyles  

•  Community Care Clinic of Rowan, Inc. (CCCoR)  

  • CCCoR provides healthy recipes and shelf stable ingredients as well as prescriptions for whole food, plant pre-dominant eating in alignment with Lifestyle Medicine for low-income patients.  

  • CCCoR also hosts a "Blessings box" of canned and boxed food for those in need. 

• Salisbury Farmers Market 

  • The Salisbury Farmers Market began accepting SNAP benefits.

  • Salisbury Farmers Market established a food donation station.

• Rowan County Public Health (RCPH)

  • RCPH has begun collaborating with Rowan Cooperative Extension and Main Street Meeting and Market Place to offer reoccurring cooking classes.

  • RCPH has expanded their LifeStyle Medicine program by initiating various new approaches which include post visit Lifestyle Medicine resource packets.

• Community in Schools (CIS)

  • CIS has expanded their reach by placing one of their staff at Koontz Elementary School.

  • CIS has started a food pantry at Koontz Elementary  

• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has started distributing CHIP bags, which are non-perishable food bags, to Koontz Elementary School and Essie Academy. 

• Rufty-Holmes Senior Center

  • Rufty-Holmes has expanded their weekly lunch club program by adding a Hispanic lunch club.  

• Bread Riot 

  • Bread Riot has started a new program called Grow a Farmer which services as an internship program for county residents who are interested learning how to farm and cultivate their on food. 

  • Bread Riot has expanded their reach by adding an additional mobile market location.  

• Rowan County Cooperative Extension 

  • The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) position has been dissolved.

Mental Health 

• Rowan County Public Health

  • RCPH has begun offering a wider variety of mental health awareness trainings.

    • Community Resiliency Model (CRM)

    • Question Persuade Refer (QPR)

    • Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM)

    • LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) 

    • Mental Health First Aid 

• Rowan County

  • Rowan County has begun offering a four-week mental health training for employees called Start the Conversation.

• Rowan County United Way

  • Rowan County United Way has begun offering a Suicide Support Group for friends and family members to have been lost to suicide.

• Rowan Helping Ministries

  • Rowan Helping Ministries has partnered with S&H Youth and Adult Services (SHYAS) to open the SHYAS Peer Support Living Room.

  • In partnership with Cabarrus-Rowan Community Health Centers, Rowan Helping Ministries has begun offering group sessions for their residents.

• Nazareth Child and Family Connection

  • Nazareth has expanded their services by extending their services to include Youth Respite for male participants. 

Substance Use 

• Rowan County Public Health 

  • Harm Reduction, Outreach, Prevention, Education (HOPE)

    • While HOPE's Safe Syringe Program technically began in December 2023, during 2024 the program began establishing a reoccurring clientele.

    • HOPE has also expanding their reach into the Rowan County Detention Center by adding another Peer Support Specialist to their team.

• BrightView 

  • Rowan County has a new substance use treatment facility called BrightView. This facility offers a variety of treatment options including:

    • Medically Assisted Treatment

    • Drug, Alcohol, Heroine, Opioid, Fentanyl, and Meth Addiction Treatments

    • Addiction Relapse Program

    • Outpatient Programs