Pilot Program Would Encourage Healthier Living in Ethnic Communities
The Pennsylvania Medical Society is developing a pilot grant program to recognize organizations that are working toward healthy living in ethnic communities. The concept was approved by the Society’s Board of Trustees at its May meeting, but the grants would not be awarded until fall of 2009.
The Society’s Work Group on Cultural Competency and Medical Diversity developed the concept for the grants, which would be awarded to several organizations each year. However, the amount and number of the awards is yet to be determined, and the Society also intends to seek funding for the project from other organizations such as insurers, health systems, and government agencies.
The grants would be awarded based on a project’s effectiveness in providing health education or services to an ethnic community. Criteria for winning projects has yet to be determined by the work group, but could range from something as simple as a one-day event, such as health screenings at a health fair, to something more sophisticated, such as an ongoing mentoring program with minority youth interested in health careers.
The work group believes that the project may help the Society achieve several of its long-term patient advocacy goals, including improving healthy living in ethnic communities through education, encouraging physicians to become mentors and educators within their local communities, and expanding the Society’s collaborative efforts with other health care organizations.
Last Updated: 8/14/2008