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TRENTON
- The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services is making
available $600,000 in grant funding to help improve the health of
the state's racial and ethnic minority populations, Commissioner
of Health and Senior Services Clifton R. Lacy, M.D. announced today.
Minority
community-based organizations are invited to apply for community
mobilization grants to improve health in the areas of childhood
asthma, diabetes, heart disease and stroke - areas in which minority
populations suffer higher incidence of disease or death.
Completed
grant applications are due at the department's Office of Minority
and Multicultural Health by May 10. From six to 10 grants will be
awarded in fiscal year 2002, and may be renewed for up to three
years.
"Health
disparities are an important public health issue in our state and
in the nation," Dr. Lacy said. "For example, New Jersey's
asthma death rate for African-Americans is more than five times
the rate for Caucasians, and minorities account for more than half
of all asthma-related hospitalizations in the state."
"Minority
community groups are vital partners in the state's effort to reduce
the burden of these diseases on African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans,"
Dr. Lacy added. "These groups know their communities. They
know the types of health awareness, education and outreach programs
that are most likely to be effective."
These
are the first grants to be awarded since legislation was signed
last year expanding the duties of the office, allowing it to make
grants to community organizations and renaming it to include multicultural
health.
Grant
recipients must conduct intensive outreach programs educating the
targeted community on healthy behaviors that can prevent chronic
health problems. The organizations will also help people identify
health problems that may need treatment or better manage health
conditions they currently have. Those who need health care will
be referred to a health center, hospital or health department.
Grantees
are also required to identify new minority community-based organizations
during the first year of the grant. The grantees will serve as mentors
to the new organizations, so that the new group can perform some
of the grant functions in the second and third years of the project.
The goal is to develop more organizations with the experience needed
to compete for grants in the future.
For
more information about grant availability, please call (609) 292-6962
or visit the department's web site at www.state.nj.us/health/commiss/omh.
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