DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jennifer Herriott, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Authorizing an agreement with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Healthy Neighborhoods Program for an initial term ending September 29, 2019.
SUMMARY:
This Ordinance will authorize an agreement with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) to implement tobacco prevention and cessation strategies for the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods Program also funded by the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods CDC grant in an amount not to exceed $35,000.00 for a term ending September 29, 2019, with the option to renew for four, one year terms.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On June 21, 2018, City Council authorized the application to accept funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an amount not to exceed $900,000.00 per year for up to 5 years for an award to improve health, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities among certain racial and ethnic populations. In the funding application, Metro Health proposed to implement culturally tailored interventions to address the preventable behaviors of tobacco use, poor nutrition and physical inactivity building on the success of the Healthy Neighborhoods Program and Office of Health Equity.
The Healthy Neighborhoods Program is a childhood obesity prevention project which employs eleven Community Health Workers, one per each of the eleven targeted neighborhoods identified based on health indicator data as well as poverty levels. The Community Health Workers, with guidance from the Healthy Neighborhoods project leaders, coordinate the planning and implementation of childhood obesity prevention strategies in the neighborhoods. The Office of Health Equity is housed within Metro Health and provides training and technical assistance on cultural competence, cultural humility, and culturally appropriate evidence-based strategies for reaching African-Americans, Hispanic/Latino and Native American populations at large. The Healthy Neighborhoods Program and the Office of Health Equity will collaborate to expand current place-based public health strategies to organize for community change and focus on addressing health disparities in priority populations.
ISSUE:
Metro Health is requesting Council authorization to execute an agreement with UT Health San Antonio to implement tobacco prevention and cessation strategies and evaluate the use of these strategies in clinical settings for REACH Healthy Neighborhoods.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should this agreement not be authorized, Metro Health will be unable to move forward with the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods Program work plan as funded by the CDC; thus, failing to meet program deliverables as well as failing to improve health, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic populations in San Antonio.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance will authorize an agreement with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for implementation of tobacco cessation strategies for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Healthy Neighborhoods Program in an amount up to $35,000 with the initial term ending September 29, 2019 and the option to renew for four, one year terms. This agreement will be funded through the CDC REACH Grant and will not have an impact to the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends City Council authorize the agreement with UT Health San Antonio to support Metro Health’s REACH Healthy Neighborhood Program.