Announcing The 2025 Community Health Assessment

The 2025 Community Health Assessment (CHA) is a comprehensive report that evaluates the health status, needs, and priorities of our community. This assessment provides a foundation for improving health outcomes and guiding health strategies for the next five years.

The CHA is part of a statewide requirement for local health departments and is an IRS requirement of nonprofit hospitals to assess community health needs. For 2025, these efforts have been rebranded under the shared identity of Healthy Door County, a collaborative network of community partners dedicated to improving the health and well-being of all who live, work, and visit Door County. 

The CHA was developed by a workgroup led by Door County Public Health and Door County Medical Center, with support from United Way of Door County, Destination Door County, and UW–Madison Extension, but community voices played the most important role in shaping this assessment. 

The 2025 CHA builds on progress made during the 2023–2025 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), which focused on workforce, housing, and social connectedness. Highlights included re-establishing the Attainable Housing Committee, launching mental health resources like CredibleMind (used by more than 3,400 residents), expanding sober-active community programming, and introducing social media safety education in all five school districts. These efforts demonstrate the power of collaboration and set the stage for the next cycle of improvement.

The 2025 CHA highlights our communities strengths as well as opportunities, revealing key findings in areas such as preventative care, environmental health impacts, education quality, transportation access, and more. 

The assessment identified several priority areas based on community input and data analysis:

• Safe and Affordable Housing — 45.7% of survey respondents ranked housing as the top area for improvement.
• Jobs with Livable Wages — 36.4% of respondents cited wages as a major concern, noting that the cost of living in Door County is about 25% higher than the state average, while median incomes fall short.
• Child Care — Families with two children spend nearly one-third of their income on child care, and 28.4% of respondents identified this as a priority.
• Aging Population — Door County is the third oldest county in Wisconsin by concentration of population 65+ and has a median age of 54.1, creating increased demand for healthcare, falls prevention, and senior services.
• Social Connectedness — 31% of adults reported feeling lonely at least sometimes, highlighting the need for more inclusive community spaces. This was a top focus of the community conversations.

Strengths included: 

• Access to Health Care - 83% of respondents said they have access to quality healthcare in Door County. 
• Nutrition and Physical Activity - Higher levels of fruit and vegetable expenditure with lower levels of soda expenditure correlated to lower rates of diabetes and obesity according to the index of fruit/vegetable and soda expenditures created by US News in collaboration with the University of Missouri. Door County outperformed the state and country in these indexes. 
• Safe Community - 40% of respondents selected 'safe community' as a top aspect of the county, second only to 'access to parks, trails and beaches.'

Community input was central to this process and Healthy Door County is immensely grateful to everyone who participated. The CHA work group hosted five focus groups and collected 973 survey responses, ensuring that diverse voices shaped the priorities identified in the report.

The completion of the CHA is the first step. A CHIP Leadership Team will now convene to develop the 2026–2030 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). This plan will outline actionable strategies to address the priority areas identified in the assessment. Often, when residents see a new initiative or collaboration, it traces back to something identified in the CHA. 

According to Erin Shortall, Marketing and Outreach Director at DCMC, “This report is one of the most influential tools for identifying the programs that need to take priority for improving the health of our community. We are very grateful for the hard work of Shauna Blackledge and Allie Reckelberg of Door County Public Health for leading this initiative and we are looking forward to working hard to implement programs that move the needle in a positive direction.”

We invite residents, organizations, and stakeholders to get involved. Your participation is vital to creating a healthier, more connected Door County. "The Community Health Assessment is more than a report—it’s a roadmap for action. By working together through Healthy Door County, we can address housing challenges, strengthen support for families, and ensure that every resident has the opportunity to thrive. We encourage everyone to review the report and join us in shaping the next steps through the Community Health Improvement Plan," said Susan B. Eisenhauer, Public Health Manager.