Carole Mitchell, Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Florida Department of Health has allocated a grant of $30,000 each to Madison and Jefferson County Health Departments. The grant is for the Heart Health Plus Initiative.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Florida and the United States. Approximately half of all Americans have at least one of three modifiable risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking.
The Heart Health Plus goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of Floridians and contribute to the Million Hearts initiative to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes nationwide.
A community meeting involving key stakeholders was held at 10 a.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at the Madison County Health Department to review the program, requirements and next steps for action. Madison County Health Department’s Chelsey McCoy, Human Services Program Specialist; and Pam Beck, Operations and Management Consultant with the Jefferson County Health Department both provided overview information, program descriptions and statistics to those in attendance. Those in attendance included: Dr. Robert J. Auston, retired Madison physician; Khyati Bhakta, Rural Health Coordinator for Big Bend Rural Health Network; Anthony Jones, Veterans Health Officer, Big Bend Area Health Education Center; Diann Douglas and Michele Stout, Madison County Extension for the University of Florida; Nita Mitchell, Human Service Program Manager for Health Start, Florida Department of Health; and Leila Rykard, Human Services Program Specialist, Tobacco Program.
The attendees included a diverse group of health and community educators and a retired physician who were well versed on the subject of cardiovascular health and the health needs of the Madison County community. Within the open forum of the health department conference room, attendees were able to brainstorm various ideas for understanding and to assure community needs were the number one priority.
Prior to being chosen for the grant, the Florida Department of Health used a data driven approach to systematically rank Florida counties to identify those with the greatest need. Cardiovascular (CVD) disease risk factors were identified and an analysis was conducted to determine which risks factors were significantly associated with CVD in Florida. Counties with the lowest scores were deemed to have the highest prevalence of significant risks factors and death rates associated with CVD and/or diabetes in Florida. These counties were invited to participate in the Heart Health Plus Initiative.
There were three programs outlined for the group to discuss and choose for community presentation: Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring (SMBP) & Tobacco Cessation program; Hypertension Control Champions; and 100 Congregations for a Million Hearts.
SMBP & Tobacco Cessation and 100 Congregations for a Million Hearts were the programs chosen for implementation. The SMBP invites participants to sign-up for a convenient way of tracking blood pressure and or use a blood pressure log for tracking.
100 Congregations for a Million Hearts is a faith based program designed to help guide congregation members toward a healthy lifestyle by combating heart disease and stroke. The goal is to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke risk factors; and educate individuals about prevention with a focus on controlling high blood pressure.
Stay tuned for additional information regarding these lifesaving programs and initiatives.