• Innovative and culturally specific projects are funded up to $200,000, for a two-year period. These projects must address a specific community with a methodology yielding measurable outcomes for behavior change. Grants must identify one or more of the six diseases and conditions, or risk factors, responsible for excess, premature deaths in the community. They promote behavior change by tapping into the attitudes, values and beliefs of the target populations. A goal of this grant program is the institutionalization of culturally appropriate projects into the healthcare delivery system.

• Minority Health Month was designed to be a high visibility wellness campaign, conducted throughout the State during April of each year. Created in Ohio in 1989, Minority Health Month became a national celebration in 2001. The maximum grant award for Minority Health Month grants is $2,000 per applicant agency.

Lupus

• This program provides grants for lupus programs for patient, public and professional education. In addition, Lupus grants can be used to encourage and develop local centers on lupus information gathering and screening and to provide outreach to women of color. Projects receive a maximum grant award of $14,000.

• The Health Priority Trust Fund resulted from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Two grant programs are supported through the fund, Community Health Grants and Academic, Scientific and Community Partnership grants.

  Community Health Grants are up to $200,000 per agency, per biennium to develop primary and secondary prevention programs.

  Academic, Scientific and Community Partnership Grants are designed to support the application of basic research to improve the health status of minorities. For the purpose of this grant an academic institution must be post-secondary and the partnership with a community partner must be programmatically and fiscally substantive. One or more of the six diseases and conditions identified as contributors to excess deaths in Ohio. Grants are supported up to $400,000 per agency, per biennium.

Grants Awarded to the Commission

We have successfully secured contracts and grants from external funding sources to execute health programs and services in Ohio’s minority communities, i.e.:

• Secured contract with the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation for Chronic Disease Tobacco to provide tobacco use prevention education, training and services that are integrated with delivery of services to prevent chronic diseases in minority clients and make referrals to the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line.

•  Awarded contract with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) for the Minority Aids Initiative (MAI) that will focus on outreach initiatives for individuals that are HIV positives in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus.

•  Awarded a five-year grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, to increase the access to primary and secondary health prevention and education information on diabetes and cancer for the African American and Latino populations in the Cincinnati and Columbus area, increase the number of minority certified diabetes educators and to develop culturally competent training modules for diabetes educators.