CHCANYS is working with the New York State Department of Health and other statewide organizations to address the leading health concerns affecting New Yorkers. In April 2008, Commissioner of Health Richard F. Daines, MD, launched the Prevention Agenda Toward the Healthiest State to improve the health of New Yorkers. This agenda calls on local public health departments, health care providers, community-based organizations, and other interested groups to work together locally to address these priorities. In addition to encouraging collaboration among various sectors, this initiative focuses the state and its communities on public health and prevention.
Right now, communities are completing an assessment of their health needs that will be finished by mid-September. Public health departments across the state are collaborating with hospitals and community stakeholders to assess community health needs, identify two or three local priorities from the Prevention Agenda list, and develop programs to address the needs. If you are interested in participating in this assessment process in your community, please contact your local health department: here
CHCANYS is part of a leadership team established by the New York State Public Health Council to support the goals of the Prevention Agenda and is working on the following projects to address 5 of the 10 Prevention Agenda priorities.
Access to Quality Health Care: CHCANYS advocates on behalf of the community health centers in NYS that works underserved population addressing quality of services provided to patients overall and specifically to those suffering from chronic diseases.
Chronic Disease: Under the principles of the Chronic Care Model, CHCANYS facilitates collaborations across NYS on chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and childhood obesity. The participating health centers use innovative approaches to address an individual’s overall health and well-being. The Clinical Quality Initiatives Team has been trained to lead community and peer workshops on Stanford’s Chronic Disease and Diabetes Self-Management Program. Through this program the participants learn how to self-manage their lives around their existing chronic condition.
Community Preparedness: CHCANYS’s Emergency Preparedness Program is working directly with DOHMH and OEM to establish a clear role for New York City CHCs in New York City’s distribution of emergency vaccines and creating a seat for CHCANYS at the Office of Emergency Management’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). These projects will establish concrete protocols that will be accompanied by formal adoption of Memoranda of Understanding that will solidify a role for CHCs to play in local disaster/public health emergency preparedness and response. Statewide, CHCANYS EP Program is working with the New York State Department of Health to create a web-based critical assets survey for CHCs that will serve as a centralized repository for Emergency Preparedness information to be used in disaster planning and response.
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Healthy Children: Through the childhood obesity project CHCANYS is addressing culturally sensitive and innovative models when addressing obesity in children. CHCANYS is currently monitoring the level of services provided around perinatal care.
Physical Activity and Nutrition: Through various collaborations, CHCANYS promotes and educates the community on the benefits of good nutrition and exercise when addressing a variety of chronic conditions. To further promote this message, CHCANYS has adopted NICHQ’s 5-2-1-0 campaign and obtained consistent participation in NYC Obesity Prevention and Management Consortium.
The State Department of Health has posted useful information about the Prevention Agenda priorities on its website. There, you can find data and statistical reports, references on estimating the return-on-investment for prevention, evidence-based approaches, relevant state program initiatives, links to our organization and other partners, and valuable prevention resources. For more information, click: here
The website also contains statistics that provide a snapshot of the health of New York State residents in each county according to Prevention Agenda priorities. Statewide data are stratified by race and ethnicity. County-specific tables enable community health planners to assess how well their county is performing compared to the state as a whole and the U.S. For more information, click: here
Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) are available down to the ZIP code level and can be aggregated into appropriate service or planning areas. These indicators display rates of admission to the hospital for conditions that can often be avoided with good outpatient care. These are called ambulatory care sensitive conditions. Usually, early intervention can prevent complications or more severe disease. These indicators may suggest potential problems in a community that may require further, more in-depth analysis. For more information, click: here
To help communities better understand the problem of obesity among their residents, Obesity Fact Sheets are now posted with county-specific information about the proportion of children and adults who exceed normal weight ranges. They also include local obesity prevention program information. For more information, click:here
For the past few years, CHCANYS has been coordinating a Childhood Obesity Prevention project with health centers in New York City. Funded by the New York City Council, the program was singled out for its work in October 2008 by Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H. with a Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future Champion Award.
