AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation Awards More Than $1.75 Million to 10 Grassroots Innovative Heart Health Programs
Livestream Available on February 16th
at 11:00am ET
WILMINGTON, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ten innovative, community-based programs will work to improve the heart
health of people locally, thanks in part to grants totaling over $1.75
million from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections for
Cardiovascular HealthSM program. These
grassroots programs will also share their cumulative lessons learned so
that other organizations throughout the country may benefit.
For the seventh year, the Foundation is awarding grants to nonprofit
organizations addressing the challenges of preventing and controlling
cardiovascular disease by conducting programs for at-risk groups, and
tailoring those activities and information to the needs and culture of
the people they are serving. The programs reach out to underserved
people of various ages and ethnic backgrounds through home visits,
clinics, community centers and more, using techniques such as support
groups, mobile health units, grocery store tours and high school interns
serving as community health workers.
The grants will be announced on February 16th at a roundtable
discussion where previous awardees will be live streamed so that program
representatives can highlight the positive results of their programs and
share lessons learned on how to improve cardiovascular disease at the
grassroots level. Visit https://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=3740&seid=684
to watch the livestream. The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation will be
promoting the livestream and program results to university public health
programs, community based health centers, hospitals and others.
James W. Blasetto, MD, MPH, FACC, chairman of the AstraZeneca HealthCare
Foundation, said: “Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in
this country. Addressing this health challenge in communities requires
supporting both innovation and sustainability. Our grant awardees are
using innovative approaches to improve heart health at the community
level and are sharing their lessons learned broadly to further these
efforts.”
Since 2010, the Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM
program has awarded nearly $21 million in grants to 49
organizations nationwide. These grant recipients are working in
innovative ways to address urgent, unmet needs in their communities and
improve heart health. They are leveraging access to care for uninsured
and underserved populations; bringing programs directly to participants
where they live, work and play; educating children to serve as heart
health ambassadors; improving cardiovascular health through food-based
programs; using health coaches to provide one-on-one support and
education; and implementing culturally-sensitive program interventions
to maximize participant outcomes.
More than 1.6 million people have been reached through activities such
as a health fairs, screenings and workshops, and over 56,000 of these
people have participated in and had their progress toward improved heart
health tracked through a variety of programs funded through Connections
for Cardiovascular HealthSM. As a result, program
participants are making lifestyle changes and improving their risk
factors for cardiovascular disease by losing weight, lowering blood
pressure and hemoglobin A1C levels, eating healthier and exercising more.
This year’s Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM
awardees are:
Catherine’s Health Center, Grand Rapids, MI — $171,239
“Whole Hearts” aims to combine outreach, education and screening with
team-based, patient-centered care and on-site counseling, treatment and
support for underlying mental health issues in order to help low-income,
underserved individuals overcome complex obstacles and achieve better
cardiovascular and overall health.
City Health Works, New York City, NY — $178,809
“Extending care for hypertension beyond the confines of the healthcare
system via neighborhood-based coaching integrated with primary care”
aims to scale up a novel, evidence- and community-based health coaching
model that is tightly coordinated with primary care providers and links
with local services. The program aims to improve hypertension control,
reduce cardiovascular disease-related health disparities and demonstrate
that the model is replicable and impactful in diverse settings. The
program includes motivational interviewing and self-management skills
focused on chronic disease, diet, physical activity and medication
adherence.
El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center, San Bernardino, CA — $176,250
“Mi Corazon, Mi Salud / My Heart, My Health” aims to improve
cardiovascular health among Latinos and African Americans by helping to
change knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors associated with
cardiovascular health through increased screening, education, treatment,
healthy lifestyle support, care coordination and health navigation.
The Gaston & Porter Health Improvement Center Inc., Washington, DC —
$179,726
“Prime Time Sister Circles® (PTSC): An Effective Intervention to Enhance
Control of Hypertension in Mid-Life African American Women Enrolled in
Medical Homes” aims to document improvement in hypertension and a
reduction in unnecessary hypertension-related emergency room visits and
hospitalizations in mid-life African American women who are impoverished
and living in Washington, D.C., where the morbidity, mortality and
disparity from hypertension are the highest in the nation. The program
uses a community-based, culturally competent, curriculum-grounded
support group.
Mallory Community Health Center, Lexington, MS — $180,000
“Take Control of Your Health” aims to improve metabolic control,
psychosocial outcomes and quality of life in order to reduce
diabetes-related complications, such as cardiovascular disease, among
Mississippians in Mallory Community Health Center’s community through an
evidence-based community intervention that encourages and teaches people
with diabetes how to be active, eat healthy, monitor themselves daily,
take medication, reduce risks, problem-solve and develop healthy coping
habits for successful diabetes management.
Manna Ministries Inc., Picayune, MS — $179,570
“(MOVE) Minimizing Obesity Via Education, Encouragement, Exercise” aims
to educate, engage and empower individuals and families to achieve
healthier lifestyles for themselves and their communities through
support, encouragement and community collaboration, thereby reducing
obesity in Mississippi one individual/family at a time.
Mercy Hospital Foundation Inc., Buffalo, NY — $165,770
“Heart Smart for Life” aims to improve the underlying causes of heart
disease among a racially and ethnically diverse, underserved population
of very low income people and to help them overcome barriers to health
that exist in the community. The program uses a multi-disciplinary team
approach and partners with a mobile clinic and community center to
provide screenings and cardiovascular health, nutrition and behavioral
health education, and to promote exercise and appropriate use of
medications.
Mid Valley Family YMCA, Van Nuys, CA — $167,032
“Activate Your Heart/Active Su Corazon” aims to reduce the risk of
hypertension and cardiovascular disease for underserved, low-income
adults in the San Fernando Valley, and help them build and sustain
habits for a healthy lifestyle through education based on the American
Heart Association’s “Empowered to Serve” curriculum, cooking
demonstrations, grocery store tours, group exercise and clinical
screenings.
West Virginia Health Right, Inc., Charleston, WV — $180,000
“SCALE (Sustainable Change and Lifestyle Enhancement)” aims to achieve
sustained weight loss for 100 obese patients through personal coaching,
group support, nutritional education, improved diet and regular
exercise, to improve the health status of these at-risk patients and
reduce their cardiovascular risk factors.
Westminster Free Clinic, Thousand Oaks, CA — $179,953
“Corazones Sanos” aims to improve the health outcomes of low-income
Latinos suffering from or at high risk of heart disease through
culturally competent, patient-centered services and programs including:
early detection through community health screenings; access to
preventative care and medical specialists; healthy lifestyle support;
one-on-one socio-emotional support; empowerment through improvement of
food environments and leadership experiences for low-income, Latino high
school interns serving as community health workers.
2016 Grant Award Total: $1,758,349
About AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation
Established in 1993, the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation is a Delaware
not-for-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) entity organized for
charitable purposes, including to promote public awareness of healthcare
issues, to promote public education of medical knowledge and to support
or contribute to charitable and qualified exempt organizations
consistent with its charitable purpose.
Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM was
launched in 2010 through a charitable contribution of $25 million from
AstraZeneca. The Foundation has provided nearly $21 million in grants
to-date, funding over 50 unique cardiovascular health programs. Over 1.6
million people have been reached through the CCH program and over
51,000 participants have been tracked for progress toward improved
cardiovascular health. For more information visit: www.astrazeneca-us.com/foundation.
To download “Lessons Learned” and for media resources visit: www.AZHCFlessonslearned.org
Contacts
AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation
Media Inquiries
Becky
Kern, 914-772-2310
bkern@slaintepr.com
