Posts Tagged ‘public health’

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Cross-Post: RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize Winners Announced: Working Across Sectors to Boost Community Health

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

“If what our mothers told us is true, that we’d be known by the company we keep, then our mothers would be very happy today,” said Mary Lou Goeke, executive director of the United Way of Santa Cruz, as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) presented her and her partnership team an RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize —one of six awarded for the first time yesterday. Awards were given to teams made up of leaders in many sectors who were recognized for innovations that are improving the health and lives of the people in their communities.

“These prize winners represent leadership at its finest—trailblazers creating a culture of health,” said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, RWJF President and CEO.

New videos shot on location highlight specific innovations in each community including:

  • • A community health educator hired by the Sault Tribe in Manistique, Mich., who became a health leader for the whole community
  • • A youth-led city-wide ban on tobacco sales in pharmacies in Fall River, Mass.
  • • An initiative to make New Orleans, La., one of the fittest cities in America by 2018, just twelve years after Hurricane Katrina devastated that city
  • • Culturally diverse healthy meals at schools in Cambridge, Mass., critical in a community with 65 languages
  • • A youth advocacy group in Santa Cruz County, Calif., who realized there were no healthy food options near their school and spurred the approval of an ordinance that requires new restaurants and transportation stations to offer and highlight healthy options
  • • The Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis, Minn., where families move through a cradle to career pipeline so that high-risk youth graduate from high school ready for college

Read the rest of this entry and find out more about the winners on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Public Health Blog.

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The Truth about Soda & Sugary Beverages

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

Recently, the Centers for Science in the Public Interest hosted the first National Soda Summit, bringing together researchers, advocates and policymakers from across the country to discuss what soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are doing to our nation’s health. Here at the New England Alliance for Children’s Health we have been strong advocates of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes as a means to reduce childhood obesity and increase revenues for child health programs.

Even with all the research and advocacy we’ve done on the topic and all the attention it’s gotten recently with New York’s bold move on portion control, I was shocked at how much there was to learn about soda. For instance, did you know that Coca-Cola once advertised a 16 oz. bottle as serving a family of three? That’s the same size that caused such an uproar when New York suggested it as the maximum serving for one.

The conference also presented new research on the links between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity as well as the addictive nature of sugar. Although obesity is a multi-factoral, issue many of the researchers stressed that soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages function as an add-on to people’s daily calorie intake. Not only do people who drink soda not adjust their food intake to make up for the extra calories, but research also shows they are more apt to eat unhealthily, causing excess weight gain.

As troubling as these facts are for adults, they are even more troubling for children. The U.S. is in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic that has caused major shifts in child health: 23 percent of adolescents are now diabetic or pre-diabetic, 90 percent of whom are suffering from what, until recently, was considered adult onset diabetes.

The Summit also revealed the disturbing racial targeting of ads and promotions for sugar-sweetened beverages. African American communities, with already sky-high rates of obesity related illness such as heart disease and diabetes, are being bombarded by ads for products that will increase obesity. The average black teen sees 90 percent more ads for sugar-sweetened beverages than the average white teen.

The summit was not all bad news though. Many policymakers and advocates discussed what can be done to restrict such advertising, increase awareness, reduce consumption, and tax sugar-sweetened beverages so that the products helping to cause the problem can help to pay for the solutions. Seeing the great work being done in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston and elsewhere was inspiring and it gave me renewed energy (not just a temporary sugar high!) to push for taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages in New England and across the country. I hope this blog inspires you to look at your next sugary drink a little differently and to join with advocates in your community to “kick the can”.

– Nicole Tambouret
Project Director
New England Alliance for Children’s Health

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Massachusetts Releases Payment Reform Legislation: Worth the Wait?

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

This blog was updated to reflect corrections to the details listed in the House bill.

Nearly 15 months ago, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick filed legislation to address the sky rocketing health care costs in the state by shifting away from the state’s largely fee-for-service way of paying for health care services. After initial hearings on this issue last summer, the state legislature remained quiet; until last week, when the House and Senate finally unveiled their versions of the legislation. The legislation addresses many of the elements that advocates, including the Massachusetts Campaign for Better Care (CBC), fought for this past year.

Highlights of the House bill (for more details see this article):

  • • Creates a new oversight agency, the Division of Health Care Cost and Quality, which will be run by a governing board with consumer representation (one out of nine members)
  • • Requires consumer representation (at least one patient) on Accountable Care Organization (ACO) boards
  • • Establishes a Wellness and Prevention Trust Fund aimed at promoting wellness at the community level in partnership with clinical providers within certain geographic areas
  • • Creates protections that ensure consumers receive needed services and imposes penalties for inappropriate denials of services or treatment
  • • Encourages any alternative payment methodology to include a risk adjustment based on health status i.e. functional status, socioeconomic, or cultural factors.

Highlights of the Senate bill (for more details see this article) :

  • • Creates and funds a Wellness and Prevention Trust Fund through a surcharge on health plans
  • • Improves care coordination and access to preventative services
  • • Requires the Department of Public Health to develop model checklists of care that may be used by hospitals to prevent medical errors and infections.
  • • Requires ACOs to promote patient-centered care by involving patients in shared decision making, in planning their care transitions across settings of care (e.g. moving from the hospital to a rehabilitation center) and establishing ways to evaluate patient satisfaction with access to and quality of care.
  • • Requires ACOs to include patient and consumer representation on governing boards

While both versions of the bill are strong and take a comprehensive approach to transforming the state’s payment and delivery systems, there are still areas that need strengthening, most notably: the financing mechanism for the Wellness and Prevention Trust Fund; meaningful compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); shared savings, especially in the Senate version of the bill; and payment policies to discourage potentially preventable errors.

The Massachusetts CBC is working with Senators to amend the legislation. The bill’s passage and implementation over the next several years will not only mark a big change for consumers in how they receive care but also put Massachusetts in the vanguard of states tackling health care costs. So for a bill that took more than a year to be released (and that will probably pass in a matter of weeks), it’s a strong start, and yes, it was worth the wait.

– Leena Sharma, State Advocacy Manager, Integrated Care Advocacy Project

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The Prevention Fund is Under Attack — Again!

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Would you rather be healthy or have affordable education? That’s the false choice House Republicans are trying to force us to consider by pitting higher education against health. Last Friday House Republicans joined others in supporting the Interest Rate Reduction Act, which will prevent interest rate hikes on subsidized Stafford Loans for college from doubling on July 1.

The House passed HB 4626 with a vote of 215 – 195. Here’s the rub – House Republicans proposed financing this bill by defunding the Prevention and Public Health Fund (Prevention Fund)—a direct attack on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which authorized the fund. Senate and House Democrats agree that hiking interest rates on student loans is unacceptable, but have proposed a better way to finance the effort. They would close a tax loophole on certain corporations with incomes over $250,000.

The vote to pass HB 4626 did not come without a number of statements in support of upholding the Prevention Fund. Several Senate Democrats spoke out against defunding the Prevention Fund, and they were accompanied by President Obama who released a veto threat statement defending the fund. The President’s statement is a clear sign that he will not stand by and allow Congress to continue to chip away at funding to improve the nation’s health.

As we reported here, the most recent threat was when Congress decided to cut $5 billion from the Prevention Fund to help ward off scheduled cuts in Medicare physician pay. House Republicans have painted it as a “slush fund” as part of their strategy to dismantle the ACA. They claim their motivation is to address the deficit or cut spending. The irony is that full investment in the Prevention Fund would help to reduce long-term spending by preventing illness and promoting health.

So far, the Prevention Fund’s biggest investments are in two areas: increasing the size of the health care and public health workforce and implementing community-based health care interventions such as programs that aim to reduce obesity and tobacco use by addressing environmental factors. Washington Post reporter Sarah Kliff highlights state examples of these investments here. These investments are critical in light of the recent projection that we will be short 30,000 primary care physicians by 2015 in addition to staggering rates of preventable health conditions such as obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 33 percent of adults and 17 percent of children and adolescents (2-19 years old) are obese in the U.S. With rates such as these we cannot afford NOT to invest in health care workforce development and prevention.

The bill has now moved on for a vote in the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority. The Senate is proposing a different version that would finance the bill by closing tax loopholes. While reducing student loan interest rates is important, financing should not be taken from the Prevention Fund to meet this goal. We need to vigilantly protect the Prevention and Public Health Fund because it will help improve the health of all and restrain the growth of health costs in the long run.

– Dara Taylor, Regional Manager, State Consumer Health Advocacy Program, &
Aurelia De La Rosa Aceves, 2012 National Urban Fellow

 

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Health Equity Can’t Wait: Guest Blog: Why Are Women of Color Still Dying in Childbirth?

Friday, April 27th, 2012

Community Catalyst is proudly taking part in the Health Equity Can’t Wait! blog carnival celebrating National Minority Health Month. Participating bloggers are health, consumer, civil rights, and provider advocates committed to promoting health equity. You can find all the posts for the carnival here.

How does race and ethnicity intersect with other identities (including sex, gender identity, etc.) in ways that compound barriers to health care and lead to health disparities? How does your organization/community approach these concerns?

African-American women have been dying in childbirth at rates three to four times that of white women for more than six decades. That shocking statistic is where I begin the conversation with women of color about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can help address persistent health disparities. These disparities, I explain, must be approached from an intersectional frame of analysis that takes into account both race and gender.

I have given this presentation to such community-based organizations as the Caribbean Women’s Health Association, the Brooklyn Young Mothers Collective and members of Bronx Health Link network, as well as to members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Asian and Latino Caucus of the New York State Legislature. These audiences know about the problems of maternal mortality and morbidity from experiences in their families and neighborhoods. Still, they are outraged to learn that in 2008, African-American women in New York City had a maternal mortality that was seven times higher than white women.

Hispanic women also suffer from high rates of maternal mortality. They account for 24 percent of maternal deaths in New York City, more than twice the percentage for white women, even though the two groups of women account for the same percentage of live births in the city.

Both African-American and Hispanic women are suffering from a related problem: pre-term births, which can lead to infant mortality and morbidity. That point was underscored at an event Raising Women’s Voices-NY co-sponsored with the Brooklyn Perinatal Network on March 22. The event, which marked the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, was held at Brookdale Hospital in central Brooklyn, where the rates of pre-term births are extraordinarily high. Advocates, policy leaders, health providers and community representatives came together to focus on how some of the chronic health conditions neighborhood women experience – such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, stress, and alcohol, drug and tobacco use – go untreated and lead to tragic pregnancy outcomes.

What can we do to address this problem? How can health reform, and the creation of the New York State health Exchange, help to address egregious disparities like maternal and infant mortality and morbidity?

The obvious starting point for change is recognizing that too many women can’t afford the health care they need. Women of color are disproportionately uninsured and underinsured. We stand to benefit enormously from the expansion of Medicaid and the offering of subsidized private insurance plans in state Exchanges like the one that Governor Andrew Cuomo has just created in New York State through an executive order. But there are also specific steps we can take in creating our state exchange that will begin to bring down the high rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Here’s the priority list we have at Raising Women’s Voices-NY:

  • • Offering affordable health coverage that can help reduce the current high rates of uninsurance among women of color.
  • • Requiring Qualified Health Plans to prioritize the reduction of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity as a health outcome that will be measured, tracked and used in determining whether a plan can continue to be offered in our state Exchange.
  • • Requiring Qualified Health Plans to include in their provider networks a strong complement of reproductive health providers qualified and experienced in serving women who are at risk of pregnancy complications.
  • • Including preventive services needed to help women plan and space healthy pregnancies in the Essential Health Benefits Package of services that must be covered by all Qualified Health Plans approved for offering in New York State’s health Exchange.
  • • Ensuring that such services are delivered in a manner that is culturally and linguistically competent and accessible to women with low literacy.

– Jasmine Burnett, Community Organizer
Raising Women’s Voices-NY

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Working Toward Health Equity Together

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Community Catalyst is proudly taking part in the Health Equity Can’t Wait! blog carnival celebrating National Minority Health Month. Participating bloggers are health, consumer, civil rights, and provider advocates committed to promoting health equity. You can find all the posts for the carnival here.

From 2003 to 2006, the cost of racial and ethnic health disparities and resulting premature deaths was $1.24 trillion nationally. Despite national and local efforts to address disparities, people of color continue to experience poorer health than their white counterparts, including higher rates of infant mortality, lower life expectancy and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. If nothing is done to address racial and ethnic health disparities, these problems are likely to worsen as the diversity of the population grows.

Reducing racial and ethnic health disparities includes providing quality and affordable health care to communities of color. According to a recent report, communities of color comprise “about one-third of the U.S. population and more than half of the people who are uninsured.” While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) promises sweeping changes to the health care system, health equity cannot be addressed through implementation of the law alone – changes must happen across society and should also include improvements to health. This means addressing the social determinants of health, such as employment, education, access to healthy foods, and safe neighborhoods.

Over the past five years Community Catalyst’s work to advance health equity has focused on helping the most vulnerable consumers, including people of color and those who face barriers to care because of their immigrant status or primary language. We have provided leadership and support to state and local consumer organizations, policymakers and foundations that are working to guarantee access to health care for everyone.

The best change occurs when the communities most affected are involved. Health equity will be achieved through full participation by communities of color and their engagement in the policy making process and implementation of the ACA. We strongly promote the participation of and partnership with communities of color to our partners. To better support state and local advocates, we are working to identify the best ways to engage communities of color in implementation of the ACA. In addition, we partner with foundations to provide financial support and technical assistance to state advocacy coalitions and encourage them to engage communities of color. This focus is reflected in grant requirements for two of our programs: Consumer Voices for Coverage, a joint initiative with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Affordable Care Act Implementation Fund.

Additionally health equity is incorporated into the goals for all of our programs:

  • • We have joined with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on the Roadmaps to Health Community Grants program to provide funding to organizations working to address social or economic factors that impact the health of people in their community. For example, advocates in Missouri identified that one key factor in maintaining employment, and consequently good health, is access to transportation to and from work. Many communities of color rely on public transportation, but this need often goes unfulfilled. Missouri advocates are using their grant funds to expand public transportation to these underserved communities.
  • • Our Hospital Accountability Team is currently working to ensure federal rules require non-profit hospitals to engage community members and leaders directly, as they research and plan strategies to address a wide range of issues that impact community health—transportation, access to health care and healthy foods, for example—that often hit harder in communities of color.
  • • To assist advocates on the ground engaging in the development of their state health insurance Exchange under the ACA, our policy team recently developed six principles to help create Exchanges that are responsive to the needs of people of color and immigrants.

Health equity is an organizational priority for Community Catalyst, and, consequently, reflected in our advocacy work. However, we need to build a network of community-based groups, state and national advocacy organizations, foundations, and individuals to stand and work together to address health disparities effectively. Please get involved and invested in reducing health disparities by demanding that lawmakers fully implement the ACA, the Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities and the National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity.

– Quynh Chi Nguyen, Program and Policy Associate
& Aurelia Aceves, National Urban Fellow

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The Changing Nature of Public Health: National Public Health Week and the County Health Rankings

Friday, April 6th, 2012

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for those of us concerned with improving the health of our communities. The last half of March had us celebrating the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and listening to the oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court about its future. And this week the focus shifts to yet another critical aspect of our goals for better health: the expanding definition of public health. April 2-8 marks the American Public Health Association’s annual National Public Health Week, focused on the theme of “A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement.” And on April 3rd, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released the 2012 County Health Rankings, which show us in detail that where we live matters to our health.

So even though they don’t involve chanting crowds on the National Mall and intense questioning from Justice Kennedy, National Public Health Week and the County Health Rankings send a clear message: acting to improve health involves multiple sectors and the way we measure health must be expanded. This year, National Public Health Week highlights the importance of prevention and wellness, including the contribution made by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is not just about the health care system; it also supports public health and includes several initiatives aimed at breaking down the siloes between our health care “system” and public health by creating incentives and policy tools to drive collaboration. The law includes the National Prevention Strategy, which is a prevention framework that tackles issues such as health disparities, encouraging healthier behaviors, and creating healthy environments for work and play. And, the ACA requires non-profit hospitals to collaborate with public health partners and communities in identifying and addressing pressing community health needs, as part of their core community benefit requirements.

With National Public Health Week, the County Health Rankings, and the National Prevention Strategy all in the mix, the next question is, “what should be done to improve a community’s health?” The County Health Rankings model shows that there are a multitude of things we should all be doing to make our communities healthier. Some actions are clearly identified with health, like programs to help people quit smoking or outreach to increase the number of people getting screened for cancer or heart disease. However, the County Health Rankings model also includes a variety of other issues rarely discussed as part of health, like strengthening our education system or creating stable jobs in our community. Both research and experience show that these issues contribute to community health, and community advocacy is essential in taking action to address them.

For example, New Mexico Voices for Children is using funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Roadmaps to Health Community Grants to help communities and decision makers understand and support public policies and practices that promote both early education and health. In Springfield, Massachusetts, Partners For a Healthier Community is using also using a Roadmaps to Health Community Grant to create the Wellspring Initiative, which is engaging large local institutions, like insurance companies and hospitals, to support a new community-owned business that can create new jobs for local residents.

These organizations and others supported by the Roadmaps to Health Community Grant are hard at work on issues like education, income and employment, family and social supports, and community safety, knowing full well that addressing those issues will ultimately improve the health of their communities. They are a part of the changing definition of public health, like many other organizations across the country. The County Health Rankings, National Public Health Week, and the National Prevention Strategy are pieces of the larger movement to improve health in our communities, and we are seeing their impact every day.

– Phillip Gonzalez,  Program Director
Roadmaps to Health Community Grants 

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Now Available: Roadmaps to Health Community Grants

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

On February 28th 2012, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Community Catalyst issued a call for proposals for the second round of funding under the Roadmaps to Health Community Grants program. The goal is to issue up to 20 new grants in 2012 to organizations who are working to create positive policy or system changes that address social or economic factors that impact the health of people in their community.

The County Health Rankings and the Roadmaps to Health Community Grants
The Roadmaps to Health Community Grants are part of the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program that is led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). This program builds on the County Health Rankings, which are published online by UWPHI and RWJF. Ranking the health of nearly every county in the nation, the County Health Rankings illustrate the factors that influence the health of our communities. The Roadmaps to Health Community Grants show what communities can do to create healthier places to live, learn, work, and play.

An initial round of Roadmaps to Health Community Grants was awarded in 2011 to 12 organizations. Those organizations are working with diverse coalitions to address social or economic factors – such as education, income and employment, family and social support, and community safety – that we know have a direct influence on the health of their communities.

For example, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT and its partners are using their current Roadmaps to Health Community Grant funding to increase access to high-quality early learning programs and to help Providence youth successfully enroll in and graduate from college—helping to ensure that they lead long, healthy lives. The coalition includes leaders from education, health, other nonprofits, and local elected officials. Their project is using the RWJF funding to engage in non-lobbying education and advocacy to increase funding for public pre-kindergarten, change the state’s education funding formula, expand the availability full-day kindergarten, develop an early warning system to identify students at risk of dropping out of high school, implement a more rigorous high school curriculum, and increase support for students applying to colleges and universities.

Expanding the Roadmaps to Health Community Grants to new communities
Grantees in this program will receive up to $200,000 over two years to demonstrate how a range of partners from multiple sectors in their communities can work together to translate the County Health Rankings into action and work towards improving health. Grantees will be established coalitions or networks that span multiple sectors and may include representatives from business, education, public health, health care, community organizations, community members, policy advocates, foundations, and policymakers. Applicants must engage community members in the planning and implementation of projects, and must collaborate with organizations having expertise in improving the health of the public. Ultimately, these grants will support communities using data and evidence to pursue policy or system changes that address the social and economic factors that most strongly influence health. Applicants must secure 100 percent matching support, including a cash match of at least 50 percent with the balance as in-kind support. Applicants must submit brief proposals by May 2nd using the RWJF online application system.

The call for proposals and more information is now available on the RWJF website. Interested individuals should review the call for proposals, which outlines the goals, selection criteria, and application process for this grant opportunity. On March 20 and April 10, Community Catalyst will host a series of two informational web conferences so that interested individuals can learn more about this grant opportunity and the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program.

Community Catalyst is excited to be working with the grantees in the Roadmaps to Health Community Grants program. We are providing the grantees with technical assistance and other supports as they work to address the root causes of poor health in their communities. We believe everyone should have a say in the decisions that affect their health – and that includes decisions on issues like education, income and employment, family and social support, and community safety.

– Phillip Gonzalez,  Program Director
Roadmaps to Health Community Grants 

 

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Does the United States spend enough on health?

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

You are surely familiar with the numbers. The U.S. spends much more per capita on health care than any other industrialized country; recent data indicate that the U.S. spent $7960 per capita annually, about $2500 more than its closest contender, Norway. Yet, over 30 countries have a longer life expectancy; this includes Japan, Portugal and England which spend less than half as much per capita on health care. Not only do we not live as long, we are also less healthy when you compare infant mortality rates, adult diabetes prevalence and a range of other serious health problems.

It’s obvious that spending lots of money on health care is not resulting in better health. Why is this so? One key reason is that the United States spends far less than many other countries on the many other factors that affect our HEALTH. Research consistently shows that people’s health is deeply influenced by their jobs, their income, educational opportunities and the social support their families can draw upon. According to a recent study published by Yale’s Global Health Institute, that was cited in The New York Times, the U.S. trails far behind other industrialized countries in its per capital expenditures on social services that can extend and improve life, like rent subsidies, employment-training programs, unemployment benefits, old-age pensions, family support, etc. So when you total the amount spent on health care and social services, the U.S. falls to 10th. And, as noted above, much of this spending is on health care not on other key approaches to improve health.

This is why health and public health advocates, as well as community members and policymakers, are joining together to improve how people live, learn, work and play as a means of achieving better health. We are forming partnerships in states and communities to increase access to education, secure jobs, community safety and other dimensions that improve lives and health. On the federal level, we are joining the fight to protect prevention funding in the Affordable Care Act from ‘raids’ to cover other budget items. We are expanding our sights and expanding our partners to improve health care and to improve HEALTH.

– Deborah Katz, Associate Director
Roadmaps to Health: Community Grants

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Federal money well spent: grants to save money by promoting community health

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

All across the country, health officials are boasting about new federal grants, awarded yesterday, that will help them save money by improving the health of Americans. More than $100 million in Community Transformation Grants went to projects in 36 states to address the underlying causes of chronic diseases that drive the bulk of national health costs. The projects promote active living, healthy eating, smoking cessation and preventive services and focus on addressing the higher rates of disease among communities of color.

Funding comes from the crucial Prevention and Public Health Fund, authorized in the Affordable Care Act, to help slow the persistent growth of health costs by preventing disease. Since its creation, the $17 billion fund has been under attack from Congressional Republicans who oppose the ACA. Earlier this month, President Obama himself targeted the fund for $3.5 billion in cuts as part of his deficit reduction plan. The grants show why the fund is so important: it will reach into communities nationwide to improve the lives and health of everyday people.

Even some of those most opposed to the ACA scored some of the money. For example, the administration of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who has joined a federal lawsuit challenging the ACA, won $3 million. News reports quoted his administration talking about the grants helping to save money. Similar comments came from leaders in other states. “The best way to reduce health care costs is by living healthier lives,” said Live Well Omaha Executive Director Kerri Peterson of a grant to Douglas County, Nebraska.

California and Texas drew the most money — $22 million and $11 million respectively. Most of the money went to public health departments. One of the few community-based organizations to win a grant was My Brother’s Keeper in Mississippi, which works to improve the health of African-Americans.

Thirty-five grants support proven interventions, while 26 support communities seeking to build the capacity to undertake wellness projects. Those 26 provide a great opportunity for advocates and community members to get involved as project leaders organize an assessment of community needs, build coalitions, and devise a plan to be submitted for more funding.

Officially, project success will be measured through improvements in weight, nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation and emotional well-being, according to Ursula Bauer, director of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. But look also for a drop in long-term health costs over time.

Examples of specific initiatives include a South Dakota project to expand smoke-free, multi-unit housing and make streets and trails more suitable for walking and biking. They also include Texas plans to expand access to fresh produce in cities and towns.

A separate set of grants went earlier this month to seven national organizations to help expand the reach of the grants. Among those receiving money was the National REACH Coalition, a Community Catalyst partner that works in communities to address racial and ethnic disparities in health.

– Alice Dembner, Deputy Policy Director

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