Highmark Foundation awards more than $1 million to support a healthier lifestyle for youth PITTSBURGH (September 8, 2009)
Grants provide resources for children to be more active
The Highmark Foundation recently awarded more than $1 million in grants to three nonprofit organizations across Pennsylvania to support school-based health centers and introduce two programs that will educate children about the importance of an active, healthy lifestyle.
"Our goal is to instill healthy habits in children at an early age," said Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation. "We believe that these programs will provide children in our region with the tools and resources to help them become more active and embrace healthy behaviors."
The following grant was awarded under the Highmark Foundation's general health funding category, which addresses four key areas of health care concern: chronic disease, communicable disease, family health and service delivery systems.
Capital Region Health System at Hamilton Health Center (Dauphin County)
Harrisburg School District students are among the most economically disadvantaged in Pennsylvania with some elementary schools having poverty rates as high as 95 percent. To address this issue, the Highmark Foundation awarded the district a grant in 2007 to establish school-based health centers within the Camp Curtain and Downey Elementary schools to provide approximately 3,000 students with immunizations, outpatient visits, medical evaluations, physical exams, vision screening, oral hygiene instruction, sealants, oral health education, X-rays, oral health exams and surgery services.
The Highmark Foundation recently awarded $515,000 to the Hamilton Health Center to continue its support of these school-based health center sites and improve the quality of life for students in Dauphin County by providing them with access to comprehensive medical and dental services. The clinics are staffed by a school health coordinator, dentist, oral hygienist, nurse practitioner, medical assistant and outreach and medical records clerk among others.
The Highmark Foundation has also awarded the following grants through its Highmark Healthy High 5 initiative. Highmark Healthy High 5 is a five-year, $100 million children's health promotion program aimed at addressing nutrition, physical activity, grieving, self-esteem and bullying prevention.
Mel Blount Youth Home of Washington County, Inc. (Allegheny County)
In 1983, Mel Blount, a legendary Pittsburgh Steeler and Hall of Famer, founded the Mel Blount Youth Home to help young men develop mentally, physically and morally and become productive citizens in society. Since 1990, more than 700 young men have been placed through the court system in the residential home or emergency shelter at the Mel Blount Youth Home. The State Department of Public Welfare, however, has mandated that the Allegheny County's Office of Children, Youth and Families must reduce the number of children being removed from their homes and placed in a residential setting by 50 percent by 2010.
The Highmark Foundation awarded a $275,000 grant through Highmark Healthy High 5 to the Mel Blount Youth Home of Washington County, Inc. to support "Back '2' The Basics — Lighting the Path '4' a Healthy Future," a program implemented in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Children Youth and Families, to improve self-esteem, strengthen families and help prevent the displacement of at-risk youth from their families. The program will reach families in the Mel Blount Youth Home's residential program and various Pittsburgh neighborhoods that have experienced difficulties in family dynamics, economics, behaviors and health issues.
Holy Family Social Services (Allegheny County)
More than 46 percent of the children and teens currently residing at the Holy Family Institute have been diagnosed as being overweight, a condition that can lead to more severe health issues such as diabetes, hypertension and/or asthma.
The Highmark Foundation awarded a $231,938 grant through Highmark Healthy High 5 to Holy Family Services to develop the "FitChoice Partnership," a healthy lifestyle program for the 145 youth in residential care that focuses on improving healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. The program will assist children and teens placed in residential care at Holy Family Institute's Emsworth Borough campus through a 12-week curriculum. Through individual nutrition counseling and group educational sessions, children and teens will gain a practical understanding of healthier food choices.
