Ohio Department of Health awards $7 million to 26 community organizations

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Health has awarded $6.89 million to 26 community organizations to support projects that improve the health and lives of residents of the Health Improvement Areas of Ohio.

Ohio’s Health Improvement Areas are neighborhoods that the ODH has identified as addressing socioeconomic and demographic factors that affect the resilience of individuals and communities, based on their health index score. social vulnerability (SVI), created by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using census data.

The community living conditions experienced by many Ohioans can lead to increased illness and earlier deaths. Cleveland.com previously reported on how residents of formerly gated communities have poor cardiovascular health.

According to ODH, organizations receiving funding will establish or expand initiatives to help remove barriers to health in communities facing the greatest risk of poor health outcomes. This includes programs that support positive health decisions, economic vitality, quality education, safe neighborhoods and quality housing.

In Cuyahoga County, United Way of Greater Cleveland, Famicos Foundation and MetroHealth have all received funding.

MetroHealth says it will use its funding to support partnerships in job training, financial and digital literacy at its Via Sana apartments in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, as well as helping neighborhood residents secure food, transportation and housing, and programs aimed at health literacy Spanish speaking among the local Latino population. Tara Mowry of the Famicos Foundation said she plans to use the $200,000 awarded to her to hire a community health liaison to help coordinate and oversee sanitation, distribution of food, vaccination and health screening they run in the Hough, Glenville and St.Claire/Upper Neighborhoods.

“We want to engage communities and include them in developing solutions to the issues they deem most important,” said Jamie Carmichael, Chief Health Opportunities Advisor for ODH’s Office of Health Opportunities. “Community members are the experts on how best to improve the conditions that affect their health.”

“As part of our commitment to ensuring that every Ohioan has the opportunity to achieve optimal health, the Ohio Department of Health is focused on raising the voice of communities across the state that are consistently experiencing health disparities,” said ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. . “We want to hear from community members about their biggest barriers to health, and we want to empower them to develop and implement the changes they want to see in their communities.”

Here are the 26 organizations that received funding:

• Athens City and County Health Department

• City of Columbus, Mayor’s Office

• Community Action Organization of Scioto County, Inc.

• Cuyahoga County Board of Health

• Dayton Children’s Hospital

• Erie County Health Department

• Famicos Inc. Foundation (Cuyahoga County)

• Food Rescue USA (Franklin County)

• Huron County Public Health

• IKRON Corporation (Hamilton County)

• Licking County Health Department

• Marion Public Health

• Mercy Health St. Rita Medical Center (Allen County)

• National Alliance on Mental Illness, Franklin County

• Nehemiah Foundation of Springfield-Clark County

• Perry County Health Department

• ProMedica Health Systems (Lucas County)

• Nationwide Children’s Hospital Research Institute (Franklin County)

• Southwest Ohio Safety Council (Butler County)

• Summit County Combined General Health District.

• Respiratory Association (Franklin County)

• Northwest Ohio Hospital Board (Lucas County)

• The MetroHealth System (Cuyahoga County)

• United Way Greater Cleveland

• Youngstown City Health District

• Zanesville Muskingum County Health Department