DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jennifer Herriott, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Authorizing an agreement with the University of Texas 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 authorizes an agreement with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) for program evaluation services funded by the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods grant in an amount not to exceed $79,200.00 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 to improve health prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities among certain racial and ethnic populations. In the funding application MetroHealth 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 Department's 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 seeking City Council authorization to execute an agreement with UTSA to lead the program evaluation process, following the evaluation framework provided by the CDC, for the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods Program.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should this agreement not be authorized, Metro Health will be unable to move forward with the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods Program evaluation plan as funded by the CDC; thus, failing to meet program deliverables as well as failing to scientifically document the REACH program’s capacity to improve health, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic populations in San Antonio.
FISCAL IMPACT:
An ordinance authorizing an agreement with the University of Texas at San Antonio for evaluation services associated with the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Healthy Neighborhoods Program for an amount up to $79,200 with the option to renew for four, one year terms with the initial term ending September 29, 2019. Funding for the agreement with UTSA will be provided through the REACH Healthy Neighborhoods Grant from the CDC and will not have an impact to the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends City Council authorize the agreement with UTSA to support Metro Health’s REACH Healthy Neighborhood Program.