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TriHealth Teams with Center for Closing the Health Gap to Address Health Disparities in African-American Communities
June 26, 2008
TriHealth is teaming up with The Center for Closing the Health Gap to address health disparities amongst the African-American population by taking health screenings, education and other services to local faith organizations in a fun and motivational way. The Health Leadership Institute "Do Right! Pilot Challenge" is a new five-month program involving five churches and more than 80 participants. The challenge combines health assessments and instruction with friendly competition. The top three teams that earn the most points will win cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 for their church’s health ministry programs.
"The Health Leadership Institute Do Right! Pilot Challenge is an extraordinary opportunity for area churches and congregations to work together to improve their collective health status. This initiative is one of a kind and will have an impact on everyone involved!" said Dwight Tillery, president & CEO for the Center for Closing the Health Gap.
“TriHealth has taken a leadership role in this program because it takes a proactive, preventative approach to confronting health disparities in our community, and it aligns with our mission to improve the health status of the people we serve,” said Stephen Schwalbe, senior vice president of strategy, communications and public affairs for TriHealth. “This program increases the odds of maintaining better health habits by targeting a group setting that allows for support and encouragement.”
Participating churches include: Corinthian Baptist, New Prospect Baptist, Word of Deliverance, Zion Baptist and New Vision. To qualify for the challenge, each church was required to have a minimum of 16 volunteers commit to five months of active participation in health monitoring and improvement activities. Each church group will earn points for attendance, tracking of activity away from the weekly exercise sessions and improvement in team members’ biometrics such as weight, cholesterol and blood sugar.
Christ Temple Baptist Church stepped forward to test this program before launching an official pilot project. "When my congregation tested the Health Leadership Institute Do Right! Challenge as a preceptor to the official Pilot program, it saved my life. I changed a few health behaviors over the two-month test and reduced my weight by 17 pounds. I am no longer pre-diabetic. The entire church now promotes healthy living," said Pastor Peterson Mingo of Christ Temple Baptist Church.
All participants are expected to attend 90-minute nutrition sessions twice a month, 90-minute physical activity sessions weekly, and adhere to the pre- and post-health screenings. As the pilot sponsor, TriHealth is providing the prize money. In addition to financial support, TriHealth’s Corporate Health team is taking care of the initial physical screenings, and health risk assessments at the beginning and end of the challenge, as well as the weekly physical activity education and instruction. As collaborating partners, Mercy Health Partners is coordinating the bi-monthly nutrition counseling sessions with dieticians, and Innovations is providing research evaluation assistance.
The Health Leadership Institute Do Right! Pilot Challenge grew from the Center for Closing the Health Gap’s Health Leadership Institute (HLI), which began Fall 2005 as a 2-year grant project funded by Anthem to help faith organizations create health ministries that promote healthy, active lifestyles. HLI is primarily focused on faith-based organizations serving predominantly African-American congregations and communities. The Health Leadership Institute continues to be offered three times a year. To date, 74 churches have completed the six-week program with approximately 150 graduates.
Visit The Center for Closing the Health Gap's Web site for more information about this or other programs they sponsor.
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