Virginia’s State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), known as the Plan for Well-Being outlined a path for improving the health and well-being of Virginians by 2020 through four aims, 13 goals, and 29 measures. Virginia’s Plan for Well-Being laid out the foundation for giving everyone a chance to live healthy life by: (1) Factoring health into policy decisions related to education, employment, housing, transportation, land use, economic development, and public safety; (2) Investing in the health, education, and development of Virginia’s children; (3) Promoting a culture of health through preventive actions; and (4) Creating a connected system of healthcare. The measure of success is that the percent of adults in Virginia who report positive well-being increases. The previously submitted 2020 Annual Report provided the updated figure for each measure in the Plan for Well-Being.

In Virginia, as in many states, the State Health Assessment (SHA) and SHIP are linked and part of one continuous process. With the expiration of the Plan for Well-Being, Virginia has embarked on conducting a new SHA. This annual report summarizes information regarding the progress of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) towards the 2021 SHA which will serve as the foundation for the new Plan for Well-Being, Virginia’s SHIP.