Greater Flint Health Coalition receives $700K to fund REACH program

GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. (WNEM) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded the Greater Flint Health Coalition $700,000 for the first year in the five-year Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program.

The Greater Flint Health Coalition said the funding will help improve health, prevent chronic diseases, and reduce health disparities among the African American and Hispanic/Latino population with the highest burden of chronic disease in Flint and Genesee County.

The coalition said African American residents in Genesee County have an age-adjusted mortality rate 30 percent higher than that of white residents across all causes, particularly heart disease.

“Community health programs can be done a variety of different ways, but REACH provides a culturally sensitive and tailored approach to lifestyle health changes for communities with the greatest need,” said Amarachi Wachuku, REACH Project Coordinator. “That is our desire, to prevent long term chronic diseases and illness by providing education, public health knowledge, financial and technical support with the community – not aside of it.”

Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke are among the most common causes of illness, disability, and death in the United States. They are also leading drivers of the nation’s $4.1 trillion in annual health care costs. These conditions, and the factors that lead to them, are more common or severe for some racial and ethnic groups, according to the Greater Flint Health Coalition.

“CDC is excited to announce this new REACH funding to 41 communities across 27 states and the District of Columbia,” said Terry O’Toole, PhD, MDiv, program development and evaluation branch chief in CDC’s division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. “With this funding, organizations will plan and carry out local, culturally appropriate programs to address a wide range of health issues among racial and ethnic minority groups where health gaps remain. REACH intends to improve health where people live, learn, work, and play.”

As one of 41 REACH recipients, the Greater Flint Health Coalition said they’ll implement healthy food and physical activity strategies to improve public health.

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