Oxford County ranked least healthy county in Maine

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Formation of Oxford County Wellness Collaborative (OCWC) and four initial workgroups

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Stephens Memorial Hospital receives Bingham grant to organize OCWC

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Active Living Group receives support from federal Community Transformation Grant awarded to Healthy Oxford Hills, becomes Oxford County Active Community Environment Team (ACET)

Oxford County ACET hosts first Western Maine Active Communities Conference

Behavioral health workgroup holds retreat for behavioral health professionals

Development of Community Engagement strategy to build human and social capital across the county  
First Steering Committee meeting and formal adoption of collective framework approach for the OCWC.

Maine Health Access Foundation Phase 1 grant to use authentic community engagement process to identify priority health issues

Bingham Program and Betterment Fund award three-year funding

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Community Engagement workgroup members attend Art of Hosting training, study Peter Block and restorative justice

Development of overall Community Engagement strategy (focused on social capital development and relationship building via “Healthy Community Gatherings” or HCGs)

Deployment of host/facilitator training to build capacity for community engagement and expose others to

OCWC’s model of community engagement and dialog

Oxford County ACET hosts second Western Maine Active Communities Conference
OCWC chosen as part of 12 sites from a field of 140 across the nation in a RWJF-funded study of models of successful collaboration between hospitals, public health, and community organizations

OCWC Semi-Annual Gathering (incorporates HCG structure)
OCWC named as semi-finalist in national competition for successful community health initiatives

Three test runs of the Healthy Community Gatherings design (with one established group, one community lunch, and one food distribution site)

Started HCG series (two towns), continued Host Trainings

County-wide Gathering using Healthy Community Gathering structure to determine priority issue bearing on health. Whole gathering determined isolation and disconnection were the root cause of many significant health issues facing Oxford County

Conclusion of Community Transformation Grant supporting Oxford County ACET work, delivery of Oxford County Moves awareness campaign (including bike route maps, poster series, PSA and website)

OCWC Semi-Annual Gathering (incorporates HCG structure)

Continued HCG series and started in two more communities (intentionally reached each of the population centers in Oxford County)

MeHAF Phase 1 ends: 5 host trainings, 34 hosts trained, 43 HCGs, 375 attendees

Oxford County ACET holds first “Roads Are For Everyone” bike event

Actions evolved from HCGs (i.e. resource directory, Healthy Community Festival, Elders Exercise class, Community Garden HCG)

Request for Host Trainings from businesses and organizations. It’s a training applicable far beyond the HCGs themselves.

Moved into MeHAF Phase 2—using developed processes and infrastructure to create an implementation plan to address priority health issues through root causes. Plan development includes asset mapping, gathering stories, Community Health Needs Assessment, and more!

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation designates Oxford County as one of 30 Sentinel Communities across the nation, in recognition of our unique work to build a "Culture of Health."

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OCWC Semi-Annual Gathering (incorporates HCG structure)

Behavioral Health workgroup receives Stephens Memorial Healthcare Foundation grant to offer Crisis Intervention Training to law enforcement professionals

Community Safety workgroup hosts Paper Tigers film screenings and discussions in four locations across Oxford County
OCWC partners with county hospitals in the planning and delivery of Community Health Needs Assessment Forums across Oxford County to identify priority health issues

OCWC Semi-Annual Gathering (incorporates HCG structure) includes approval of priority health issues for MeHAF grant work

Behavioral Health workgroup receives John T. Gorman grant expand Crisis Intervention Training
Oxford County ACET hosts second “Roads Are For Everyone” bike event

MeHAF Planning Gathering (incorporates HCG structure)

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OCWC awarded MeHAF Phase 3 Healthy Community grant to implement initiatives aimed at addressed priority health issues (obesity and substance use disorder) through root causes.

OCWC Semi-Annual Gathering invites members to support MeHAF Phase 3 initiatives

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OCWC Semi-Annual Gathering used to offer Restorative Community Training to attendees

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OCWC receives a Healthy People, Healthy Places grant from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation to support growth of capacity

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OCWC receives a grant from Quimby Family Foundation to support developmental evaluation and ability to engage additional partners

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OCWC is invited as a core community partner in a $20M National Institute of Health grant-based initiative to develop community-engaged research in rural Maine. This effort, led by the Center for Outcomes, Research and Evaluation at the Maine Medical Center, is focused on improving rural health outcomes.

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OCWC Spring Gathering delivers education and updates about county wide work to address Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resiliency Building organized by the Oxford County Resilience Project

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Oxford County is ranked the sixth healthiest county in Maine, its highest ranking to date

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Community Health Needs Assessment forums identify substance use, mental health, cancer, Adverse Childhood Experiences, health eating/active living, and social determinants of health as priority health issues

OCWC evolves to a new structure in order to better serve as a backbone organization supporting work to improve health, offering a limited suite of services and connecting partners to others who can provide services and resources to improve health