Ohio Hospitals Promoting Health and Fitness

COLUMBUS – A charitable arm of the Ohio Hospital Association, the Foundation for Healthy Communities, is rewarding hospitals which take a lead in promoting healthy lifestyles in the communities they serve. Throughout 2002, the Foundation is supporting community health projects which are focused on reducing the incidence of substance abuse and low-birth-weight babies and increasing the number of Ohioans engaged in regular physical activity.

“Ohio hospitals will be there when needed but prefer to encourage people to prevent health problems and exercise healthier behaviors. People in all age groups have daily opportunities to eat better, exercise more and practice healthy lifestyles to protect their long-term wellness and that of their families,” said Lynne Ayres, director of the Foundation.

The Foundation awarded $50,280 in grants to five hospitals working to promote healthy lifestyle choices and physical fitness across Ohio. The latest grants are:

• Collaborating with local media, Samaritan Health Foundation, Dayton, received $10,000 for Take Off Dayton!, a program to increase awareness of and participation in healthy activities to help residents meet their healthy behavior goals.

• Marietta Memorial Hospital was awarded $11,500 for Get Fit Seniors, designed to encourage healthy lifestyles in southeast Ohio’s senior population by providing clinically supervised exercise classes in rural senior centers.

• Healthy Lucas County - A New Me in 2003, a program of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, Toledo, received $10,780 to conduct an 8-week community challenge to encourage lifelong physical activity and healthy eating habits for 650 county residents.

• Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, was awarded $9,500 for Step Out For Your Health, a county-wide program to promote daily physical activity and wellness education.

• Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center and Rockdale School-Based Health Center received $8,500 to promote weight loss through diet and exercise to low-income children, predominately African Americans age 4 to 16, who have been identified as obese.

The Foundation for Healthy Communities was created and endowed by Ohio hospitals in 1994 to promote creative collaborations for better health. The 90 projects funded so far for more than $850,000 have provided community health needs assessments, smoking cessation and prevention, mobile and community health clinics and child immunizations and other health improvement programs.

The Foundation solicits project initiatives twice a year with grants awarded in the spring and fall. In addition to the 2002 focus area of promoting healthy lifestyles through reduction of substance abuse and low-birth-weight babies and increasing regular physical activity, applicants are encouraged to submit collaborative, creative approaches toward improving health status through measurable and replicable results.  The next opportunity to apply for a general grant from the Foundation will be first quarter 2003. Check the Foundation Web site at www.ohanet.org/healthycommunities/ in the first quarter 2003 for details.

The Foundation is an arm of the Ohio Hospital Association. OHA represents more than 170 hospitals and 40 health systems with more than 200,000 employees throughout Ohio. OHA’s mission is to provide leadership. OHA works with members in meeting the health care needs and improving the health status of the communities they serve. 

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