CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Friday St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake received some big news – the hospital was awarded a $497,076 grant for health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Lake County.
This grant is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) Community Transformation Grants (CTG) to support public health efforts to reduce chronic diseases, promote healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities and control health care spending in small communities.
“St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake will collaborate with our community leaders and members over the next two years to make a real difference from a population health perspective,” said David Santos, vice president of Operations at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.
By focusing on where people live, work, learn and play, the CTG program is expected to improve the health of more than four out of 10 U.S. citizens, or about 130 million Americans.
Overall, HHS awarded approximately $70 million in prevention grants to 40 awardees focused on improving the health of small communities across the nation.
Awardees will conduct activities in one or more areas that contribute to the overall goals of the CTG program and help achieve positive changes in one or more of the following outcome measures: weight, proper nutrition, physical activity, tobacco use, and social and emotional well-being.
St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake will tackle smoking cessation, obesity prevention, physical activity, nutrition and emotional health for Lake County residents.
“We’re looking forward to this opportunity to better the health and well-being of our community,” said Susan Jen, project director and executive director of the Health Leadership Network of Lake County. “This effort will engage our community organizations as well as our residents to improve our health status, building on our county’s positive attributes as we move forward – keeping our focus on wellness.”
Administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CTG Program is a comprehensive prevention and wellness initiative launched in 2011 and funded through the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund.
These new funds will support areas with fewer than 500,000 people in neighborhoods, school districts, villages, towns, cities and counties. Awardees represent organizations committed to improving health from a multitude of sectors.
“Health care reform is saving money, saving lives and improving the health and wellbeing of our communities,” said Rep. Mike Thompson. “These funds will make Lake County healthier, and as we know, when folks are healthy, workforce productivity is up and costs are down. I am proud to have voted for the Affordable Care Act and will continue working to strengthen the great reforms we made.”
Support from the business community, school districts, community-based organizations, and other non-traditional partners is critical to reducing deaths and health costs due to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes and other serious health problems.
The Community Transformation Grants are one piece of a broader effort by the Obama Administration to address the health and well-being of U.S. communities through initiatives such as the President’s Childhood Obesity Task Force, the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign, the National Prevention Strategy, the National Quality Strategy, and HHS’ Million Hearts initiative.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund, as part of the Affordable Care Act, is supporting the CTG program and other initiatives designed to expand and sustain the necessary capacity to prevent chronic diseases, detect them early, manage conditions before they become severe, and provide states and communities the resources they need to promote healthy living.