For Immediate  Release	Contact: Tiffany Himmelreich
October 31, 2003	614-221-7614
	tiffanyh@ohanet.org

Hospitals To Benefit Women and Adolescents

COLUMBUS – The Foundation for Healthy Communities of the Ohio Hospital Association awarded nearly $40,000 in grants to four hospitals committed to improving physical and mental health among women in homeless shelters and adolescents in Ohio’s rural and urban communities. The four projects emphasize mental wellness along with traditional nutrition and physical activity education. The foundation supports community heath projects that promote healthy lifestyles and prevent health risks, injury and illness.

“We selected these projects because of the innovative approaches toward addressing the health concerns of women and adolescents. The majority of projects are focused on preventing obesity in youth, which is becoming a national crisis. The hospitals recognize that taking a holistic wellness approach including self-esteem and life skills development results a higher likelihood of lifelong individual commitment to health. For youth, incorporating popular types of physical activity such as martial arts and line dancing contributes to the fun of staying fit,” said Lynne Ayres, director of the foundation.      

The four grants totaling $38,891 were awarded to the following hospitals:

• The Children's Medical Center, Dayton, received $9,511 for Take Off Teens, a program promoting healthy lifestyles to underserved, inner city youth through extracurricular exercise and nutrition education.

• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Drug and Poison Information Center, was given $13,657 for Start Activity by Increasing Natural Intrinsic Movement, a 52-week program increasing physical activity among African American youth through martial arts-based self-discipline techniques.

• The Mercy Foundation of Mercy Health Partners-Western Ohio, Springfield, was awarded $5,872 for Fighting Invisible Tigers, a 12-week school-based stress management and life skills development program helping high-risk, adolescent females. Skills presented include healthy behaviors, self-esteem and life planning.

• St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, received $9,851 for Positive Choices Plus, a project targeting 60 high-risk women residing in homeless shelters to promote health lifestyles choices and reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.

All four programs are in line with the foundation’s current grant focus of supporting hospitals in their efforts to increase physical activity and decrease the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.

The Foundation for Healthy Communities was created and endowed by Ohio hospitals in 1994 to promote creative collaborations for better health and improve community health status. The 98 projects the foundation has funded so far totaling $950,000 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 during the year with grants awarded in the spring and fall. In addition to its ongoing mission of promoting healthy lifestyles, applicants are encouraged to submit projects directed at any public health need which is collaborative, creative approaches toward improving health status through measurable results.  The next opportunity to apply for a general grant from the foundation will be spring 2004. Check the foundation’s Web site at www.ohanet.org/healthycommunities/ for details.

The Foundation for Healthy Communities was created and endowed by Ohio hospitals in 1994 to promote creative collaboration for better health. It encourages hospitals and health systems to move beyond traditional roles of healing illness and injury and develop promising methods for promoting healthy lifestyles.

The Foundation is sponsored by the Ohio Hospital Association, which 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 its members in meeting the health care needs and improving health status of the communities they serve. Learn more about OHA and the Foundation for Healthy Communities at www.ohanet.org.

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