What Happened?
The Benewah Medical Center and Wellness Center in Idaho recently received $415,987 from the federal government to support healthcare programs for low-income, minority populations in two counties. Servicing more than 19,000 residents in need, the health center is being funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Community Transformation Grants which aim to prevent chronic diseases at the community level.
The Goal
Utilizing the CDC’s Community Transformation Grant program, the Benewah Medical Center and Wellness Center will be better equipped to meet the needs of residents with limited access to medical care or financial support to pay for standard treatments. Operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the ambulatory health center is working to improve the health of the Indian Reservation’s population with access to preventative medicine, programs to reduce tobacco use, and educational programs discussing nutritional habits and importance of physical activity. The funding will be used to track progress of each program and assess where improvements should be made for long-term benefits to the residents.
How It’s All Funded
As part of the federal government’s Prevention and Public Health Fund, the Community Transformation Grants through the CDC help spur innovation in healthcare and awareness across the country by supporting community-level programs. In the next 10 years, the fund plans to invest $12.5 billion nationwide in prevention programs to enhance the public health system and reduce dependency on expensive hospital resources for chronic care.
The Benewah Medical Center and Wellness Center’s funding came from the $3.42 million the state of Idaho has received through the fund intended to address risk factors in the public associated with chronic diseases. The center will continue to use the funding to make nutritious food and physical activity more accessible to residents, while reducing tobacco use and obesity.
Federal Efforts At The Local Level
The CDC’s Community Transformation Grants has a Small Communities Program that designates funding specifically to communities with less than 500,000 in neighborhoods, school districts or municipalities. Last year, the CDC awarded $70 million to 40 communities to create sustainable strategies and infrastructure to cut disparities in healthcare and make preventive treatments more accessible. The program was designed to reach 9.2 million residents, with expectations to grow in the coming years. The funding is targeting five specific categories of health and wellness:
- Tobacco-free living
- Healthy eating and physical activity
- Clinical and preventive services at the community level
- Resources for social and emotional wellness
- Physical environments that promote health and safety
Communities that received funding from the CDC have used the money to enact smoke-free spaces, support local farmers to increase access to produce, add resources to detect mental illnesses early and offer treatments, as well as more tools to increase physical activity in the community and schools.
Improving Locales
EFficientGov has tracked the progress of several initiatives to expand access to fresh produce in urban settings as well as discourage the use of tobacco products in public.