$211 Million in Community Prevention Grants go to 193 Organizations in Every State

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) applauds the awarding today of a new set of Community Prevention Grants by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency awarded a total of $211 million across every state which will be used to fund evidence-based and innovative partnership approaches to improve the health of Americans.  A majority of these grants are from the Prevention and Public Health Fund – the nation's first mandatory investment toward preventing disease and illness. 

Today's investments will be used to help tackle many of the most pressing preventable health issues in their local communities. These grants:

• Support community-driven prevention efforts targeted at reducing tobacco use, increasing physical activity, improving nutrition, addressing health disparities and improving prevention activities.
• Provide financial support directly to states and communities, and gives them flexibility to address their highest priority health challenges.
• Invest in programs that are proven and effective. Oversight and evaluation is a key component of every Fund-sponsored program, and strict performance measures ensure accountability before federal dollars are spent.

"Preventable health problems are crippling the United States today, leading to unnecessary suffering and avoidable healthcare spending.  For decades, the nation focused too much on sick care – treating people after they became ill – rather than true healthcare – preventing people from getting sick in the first place.  These grants and the Prevention Fund help turn that equation on its head, putting priorities in the right place," said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of TFAH.  "Today's grants are an important step -- giving states, communities and organizations important resources to put toward proven strategies that can help move the needle to improve health in neighborhoods, workplaces and schools."

Chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, are responsible for seven out of 10 deaths, 75 percent of the $2.5 trillion spent on U.S. medical care costs and billions of dollars in lost productivity each year.  Two thirds of Americans are either obese or overweight and nearly 20 percent of Americans smoke. Obesity costs the country $147 billion and tobacco use $96 billion in direct healthcare costs each year.

Grants awarded today include:

To reduce health disparities and prevent obesity, diabetes and heart disease and stroke, $69.5 million has been awarded to 17 states and four large cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City and Philadelphia). The recipients will support environmental and system approaches to promote health and make the healthy choice the easy choice. They will specifically focus on people with uncontrolled high blood pressure and who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Also, recipients will be required to promote connections and collaborations between the clinical setting and the community.

The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) initiative will award $34.9 million to 49 organizations in 22 states and Washington, D.C. to improve the capacity of communities to implement programs to help eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health. Recipients will expand access to tobacco-free environments and physical activity; increase the consumption of fruit, vegetables and healthy beverages; and promote the use of community-based resources. REACH awardees will improve quality of life in communities, prevent premature deaths and reduce medical costs. Recipients include: Montgomery Area Community Wellness Coalition; The University of Alabama at Birmingham; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; AltaMed Health Services Corporation; Boat People SOS-California; California Center for Public Health Advocacy; City of Pasadena; Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment; Community Health Improvement Partners; Mandela MarketPlace, Inc.; Operation Samahan, Inc.; Project Concern International

Public Health Institute; Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles; San Francisco Department of Public Health; The Regents of the University of California, San Diego; Toiyabe Indian Health Project; Colorado Black Health Collaborative, Inc.; The Stapleton Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities; Leadership Council for Healthy Communities; The George Washington University; DeKalb County Board of Health; Morehouse School of Medicine, Inc.; Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services; University of Hawaii; Benewah Medical & Wellness Center; University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.; Central Maine Community Health Corp.; Boston Public Health Commission; Old Colony Y; Partners In Health; Kent County Health Department; Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc.; Oakland University; Asian Media Access; Greenwood Leflore Hospital; Creighton University; Presbyterian Healthcare Services; Bronx Community Health Network, Inc.; New York University School of Medicine; The Institute for Family Health; Public Health Authority of Cabarrus County; Asian Services In Action, Inc.; Cuyahoga County District Board of Health; YMCA of Greater Cleveland; Multnomah County Health Department; Temple University; Meharry Medical College; and The Balm In Gilead, Inc.

The $49.3 million awarded for Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) will go to 39 entities across 23 states that have pledged to improve health and reduce the burden of chronic diseases. Each recipient will use their grants to support strategies that address the outcomes of a recent community health needs assessment and intentionally focus on vulnerable populations. Recipients include: Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board, Inc.; Community Action Partnership of Orange County; County of Santa Clara; Fresno County Department of Public Health; Los Angeles County Office of Education; Merced County Department of Public Health; North Coast Opportunities; Solano County Public Health Services, County of Solano; Toiyabe Indian Health Project; Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children; Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Inc.; Pinellas County; Heart of Florida Health Center; Miami-Dade County; Fulton County; Tanner Medical Center, Inc.; Cook County Department of Public Health; Trinity Medical Center; Woodbury County; Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department; Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS); MaineGeneral Medical Center; Boston Public Health Commission; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians; My Brother's Keeper, Inc.; Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln; Southern Nevada Health District; Cheshire Medical Center; Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA; Fund for Public Health in New York, Inc.; Schenectady County; Albemarle Regional Health Services; Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio; The Lima Family YMCA; Cherokee Nation; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; YMCA of Greenville; Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board; and Seattle-King County Department of Public Health.

The Comprehensive Approach to Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country provides $11.3 million to 22 organizations in 15 states that will work to prevent heart disease and prevent and manage type 2 diabetes by implementing culturally adapted community policies, systems and environment improvements to curb tobacco use and increase physical activity and the consumption of health foods. Recipients include: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; InterTribal Council of Arizona, Inc.; California Rural Indian Health Board, Inc.; United Indian Health Services, Inc.; Nez Perce Tribe; Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas; Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians; Fort Peck Community College; Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board, Inc.; Santa Ana, Pueblo; Oklahoma City Area Inter-Tribal Health Board; Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board; Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center; Catawba Indian Nation; Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe; United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.; Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc.; and Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

The CDC has awarded $4.2 million to six land grant colleges and universities—Auburn University, University of Kentucky, South Dakota State University, University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University and West Virginia University—to reduce obesity in areas that have adult obesity rates above 40 percent. The recipients will implement community-based strategies to improve physical activity and nutrition, reduce obesity and prevent and control diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Recipients will be held accountable for increasing the knowledge of parents, caregivers, children and youth related to healthy eating, physical activity and screen time. They will also improve the health of children, youth and families and decrease the risk of chronic diseases.

The National Implementation and Dissemination for Chronic Disease Prevention (PICH Orgs) is a cooperative agreement that will award $9.4 million to five national organizations— ASTDHPPHE, National WIC Association, Society for Public Health Education, American Planning Association and American Heart Association – that either help communities build capacity and implement programs (Category A) or provide training and information (Category B). Category A recipients will have up to eight months to create/strengthen coalitions and then start to implement a 15-month community action plan. Category B awardees will educate community-based groups, the public, community leaders, decision makers and others on the importance of prevention and community health.

Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.www.healthyamericans.org.

SOURCE Trust for America's Health