Poverty Today

More than 1 out of every 4 working-age adults in Ohio -- an estimated 2.9 million people -- went without health insurance in 2007 and 2008. That's 28.8% of residents under the age of 65. The majority went without insurance for 6 months or more.
 
Nationwide, 33% of all Americans in this age group were uninsured in 2007-2008.

Source:
Families USA, Americans at Risk: One in Three Uninsured, March 2009

HEALTH DISPARITIES

Advancements in medical science have not reduced the health disparities, those higher rates of premature death, chronic diseases and other poor health outcomes that racial and ethnic minorities have in comparison to non-minorities.
 
The differences start at birth, with higher rates of low-birth weight and infant mortality for African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos and other minority groups. And the gap continues with minorities experiencing higher rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity and asthma.
 
The causes of health disparity are varied and complex and include personal behaviors, but experts agree that inadequate access to care and substandard quality of care are two major factors.
 
Barriers to care result from socio-economic conditions, including education, economic instability, housing conditions, as well as cultural issues. But when minorities have similar levels of access to care, health insurance and education of non-minorities, they still often receive poorer quality of health care.
 
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland seeks to improve health outcomes for those most in need and is working to reduce health disparities in Cleveland and in the Central Neighborhood, which is experiencing serious challenges such as a high number of uninsured and incidence of chronic disease.
 
The Foundation, which views health as vital to supporting families' well being, as well as building stable neighborhoods and reducing poverty, has awarded more than $5 million in grants towards eliminating health disparities through health literacy and healthy eating and active living programs.
 
The Foundation's work dovetails with movements across the country to end health disparities, including the federal initiative - the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which is focusing this year on health literacy.
 
The Foundation is working to improve health literacy by reducing patient-medical provider miscommunication can result in lower quality of care.
 
The foundation is also promoting healthy eating in Central by helpding residents get access to fresh nutritious food by supporting local farmers markets, urban gardens and by giving residents incentives to use their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards at local farmers markets. 
 
The Foundation also supports health policy organizations as they pursue objectives of promoting or improving government policies that may reduce health disparities. The Foundation also supports the policy goals of the Catholic Health Association of the United States 
 

Health Disparities Grants (Awarded 2009)

HEALTH LITERACY
(INITIATIVE)
$326,788
Cleveland Department of Public Health – MomsFirst Cleveland Cleveland Baby Basics Initiative $86,513.00
Cleveland Department of Public Health, Division of Health – Steps to a Healthier Cleveland Cleveland Support for integration of health literacy strategies
* Funded by The Cleveland Foundation
$30,000.00
Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland Cleveland Diabetes Health Literacy Initiative $18,750.00
Environmental Health Watch Cleveland Helping Families Manage Asthma-Pilot Project $40,000.00
The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland Cleveland Patient Advocate Program
* Funded by The Cleveland Foundation
$46,525.00
PM Foundation Inc.dba Urban Community School Cleveland UCS Health Emissaries-Children Leading the Way $15,000.00
Project:LEARN Cleveland Reading Health $40,000.00
Rainbow Pediatric Practice Clinic at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital of University Hospitals of Cleveland Cleveland Rainbow Parent Network Program
* Funded by The Cleveland Foundation
$50,000.00
HEALTH CARE POLICY
$166,698.90
Children's Hunger Alliance Cleveland Feeding Hungry Minds & Bodies-Cleveland $37,684.90
City of Cleveland, Department of Public Health Cleveland Accessing Healthy Food in Central $50,000.00
Neighborhood Health Care, Inc. dba Neighborhood Family Practice Cleveland We Are the Uninsured Project $19,000.00
St. Vincent Charity Hospital Cleveland Healthy Eating Active Living $38,027.00
St. Vincent Charity Hospital/Center for Vascular Health Cleveland Planning and Program Development coordinated by the Collaborative Diabetes Taskforce $10,000.00
YMCA of Greater Cleveland Cleveland We Run This City Youth Marathon Program $50,000.00

Health Disparities Grants (Awarded 2008)

HEALTH DISPARITIES
(INITIATIVE)
$141,582
Applewood Centers, Inc. Cleveland Project Reconnect $36,800.00
Recovery Resources Cleveland Mommy & Me Program $23,512.00
St. Vincent Charity Hospital Cleveland Identifying & Tackling Disparities in Diabetes $ 81,270.00
HEALTH DISPARITIES (NON-INITIATIVE) $20,000
Neighborhood Health Care (dba Neighborhood Family Practice) Cleveland “We Are the Uninsured” Project $20,000.00
HEALTH LITERACY
(INITIATIVE)
$10,968
Cleveland Department of Public Health/Moms First Cleveland The Cleveland Baby Basics Initiative $10,968.00
HEALTH CARE POLICY
$30,000
The Center for Community Solutions Cleveland Improving Program Planning, Policy Development & Advocacy Efforts: 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey $15,000.00
ideastream Cleveland Planning for a Healthier Community $15,000.00