Posted on February 6, 2023February 20, 2023 by iphiadmin

IPHI Hosts Maryland’s First Statewide Food Summit

IPHI hosted Maryland’s first statewide food summit, Developing a Maryland Food Charter: Statewide Summit, on October 15, 2015. The event included nearly 60 participants from all five regions of the state.

The summit focused on the following:

The current status of potential food systems issues at the state-level
An overview of the outcomes and themes that arose at the regional convenings
Finalizing and prioritizing the strategies across the five food system domains included in the Maryland Food Charter

What is the change you want to see?

A panel of experts answered this question from Grow & Fortify, Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Maryland State Department of Education, and Center for a Livable Future. Their perspectives guided the development of the Maryland Food Charter.

All summit participants refined and strengthened strategies that were included in the first-ever food charter. They also assessed the feasibility of the collective action strategies.

To view and download the Maryland Food Charter, click: here.

Prince George’s Fresh

Supermarket employee helping a customer to choose

Prince George’s Fresh

Prince George’s Fresh is a pilot fruit and vegetable coupon benefit program designed to increase access to healthy food in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Through a collaborative partnership between IPHI, Giant Food, Amerigroup, Anthem Foundation, and the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Workgroup of the Prince George’s Healthcare Action Coalition, Prince George’s Fresh will increase healthy food access for Prince George’s County residents. The program allows medical professionals at participating health clinics to recommend produce coupons and nutrition education to patients experiencing food insecurity. Prince George’s Fresh is an innovative opportunity to engage cross-sectoral partners in an evidence-based model to address County health disparities and food insecurity. For Prince George’s Fresh fact sheet, click: here.

To learn more about Prince George’s Fresh, please contact pgfresh@institutephi.org.

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DC & PGC Gets Vaxxed!

DC & PGC GETS VAXXED!

The DC & PGC Gets Vaxxed! is a 12-month community health initiative led by IPHI in partnership with local community-based organizations through Wards 7 and 8 in the District of Columbia (D.C.) and Prince George’s County (PGC), Maryland.

This COVID-19 vaccination initiative is funded by a $1M grant from the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). IPHI’s main mission is to provide residents in D.C. and PGC with the proper education, resources, and linkage to COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.

DC & PGC Gets Vaxxed! collaborated with community partners to provide vaccine services, linkages to health care, and other resources such as mental health and housing services. Partners throughout this project include Whitman Walker Health, Family Medical Counseling Services Inc., Metro Health, Capital Area Food Bank, Food and Friends, Volunteers of America, La Clinica del Pueblo, and Damien Ministries.

The outreach is made possible by community health workers (CHWs) who support community members throughout Wards 7 & 8 and along the beltway of PGC. CHWs can be found doing:

community canvassing,
hosting webinars,
providing education at local food banks/food giveaway events,
community health fairs,
COVID-19 vaccination events,
and more!

As of September 2022, CHWs connected:

15,076 individuals to assistance under DC & PGC Gets Vaxxed!
16,470 individuals to vaccine outreach and education information
4,172 face-to-face contacts with individuals to address barriers to COVID-19 vaccination
757 individuals to vaccinations supported through education, referrals, transportation, reminder calls, and/or personalized on-site support

To learn more about DC & PGC Gets Vaxxed!, please contact Program Manager Nephtalie Dorceus at ndorceus@institutephi.org or 240.253.4214.

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DC Healthy Housing Collaborative

DC HEALTHY HOUSING COLLABORATIVE

The District of Columbia Healthy Housing Collaborative (DCHHC) is a multi-sector coalition addressing substandard housing conditions that contribute to significant health issues affecting District of Columbia residents.

The DC Healthy Housing Collaborative (DCHHC) is a coalition of various organizations working together to improve the health of the District of Columbia (DC) residents by making sure their homes are safe and free of harmful exposures such as pests, mold, and lead.

Any home can have such problems, but houses in poor neighborhoods are far more likely to have chronic issues. In D.C., race, income, and neighborhood too often predict the potential for poor housing conditions that can lead to serious health problems. The DC Healthy Housing Collaborative (DCHHC) helps individuals and families take the steps needed to keep their homes safe.

IPHI serves as a backbone organization to help provide infrastructure and administrative support (including financial and grants management, human resources, communications, etc.), which allows the teams to concentrate on specific missions as service providers or mining resources for their audience.

To stay updated with the DCHHC’s monthly meetings, updates, and newsletters, click: here.

To learn more about the DC Healthy Housing Collaborative, please contact Program Director Abby Charles at acharles@institutephi.org or visit: www.dchealthyhousingcollaborative.org.

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ImmunizeVA

A few people wearing masks are showing off their bandaids after receiving a vaccine.

IMMUNIZEVA

ImmunizeVA is a statewide coalition of immunization stakeholders representing medical, public health, nonprofit professionals, parents, and community leaders in Virginia.

Our diverse membership is united in its commitment to the coalition’s vision of a future where the quality and length of life of Virginians are not impacted by a disease that could have been prevented by immunizations.

Together, members work to improve immunization coverage across the Commonwealth in four key areas:

Advocacy
Education
Professional Education
Quality Management

Since it was established in 2020, the coalition has supported the implementation of vaccine clinics in historically under-vaccinated communities, launched social media campaigns to spread awareness about pressing vaccine issues, supported education initiatives surrounding immunization legislation, facilitated numerous presentations for medical and public health professionals on immunizations, and collected timely data on pressing vaccine issues. IPHI serves as the backbone support for ImmunizeVA.

To learn more about ImmunizeVA, please contact immunizeva@institutephi.org or visit: immunizevirginia.org.

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Prince George’s County Food Equity Council

Mom kissing son on the cheek as he helps with groceries.

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY FOOD EQUITY COUNCIL

The Prince George’s County (PGC) Food Equity Council (FEC) is a local food policy council that works to help residents grow, sell, and choose healthy food. The FEC is incubated and fiscally sponsored by the IPHI.

Prince George's County Food Equity Council logo The FEC is a group of hometown leaders and changemakers committed to bringing better food to every fork. Since 2013, the FEC has been a voice for county residents at the policymaking table. Members of the FEC work with county leaders to find permanent solutions to improve the food system. The FEC focuses on systematic and sustainable changes to Prince George’s public health challenges (i.e. hunger, obesity, and areas of the county that lack healthy food options) by advocating for policies that create a more equitable local food system.

To learn more about the Prince George’s Food Equity Council, please contact Program Manager Julia Groenfeldt at info@pgcfec.org or visit: www.pgcfec.org.

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CHWs for a Healthy VA

Two androgynous women looking at a phone together.

CHWS FOR A HEALTHY VIRGINIA

Community Health Workers for a Healthy Virginia (CHWs for a Healthy VA) is a 3-year capacity building project led by IPHI in partnership with a wide range of state and local partners across Virginia.

The initiative is funded through a national grant initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through the project, IPHI and its partners will deploy CHWs as a strategic intervention to assist communities in the response and recovery from COVID-19. The project will also develop and test innovative financing strategies to support the long-term sustainability of CHWs and community resource providers.

IPHI has partnered with numerous organizations across Virginia to hire CHWs to help with recovery and response. Through the grant, community-based organizations, healthcare providers, local health departments, and other partners will hire and deploy CHWs. IPHI will assist with training and provide technical assistance. These partners are addressing gaps in access to COVID-related services, such as testing, vaccination, and quarantine support, and responding to community needs exacerbated by COVID-19, such as access to health and mental health care, housing services, and food assistance.

IPHI is identifying high-priority communities and populations that would benefit the most from CHW interventions. Currently, the project focuses on Richmond and surrounding areas and southwest Virginia’s Mount Rogers area.

CHW regional conveners are working on expanding collaborations, increasing CHW’s presence, and informing external partners about IPHI’s work with CHWs. The following regional conveners are represented in each of the four areas:

Norfolk State University
Healing Hands Health Center
Richmond/Henrico Health District
Virginia Rural Health Association

IPHI works closely with the Virginia Community Health Worker’s Association to highlight CHW voices in Virginia.

Partners in Four Areas of Need

Southwest VA/Mt Rogers

Ballad Health
Healing Hands Health Center
Mount Rogers Health District

Norfolk/Portsmouth

Capital Center of VA (CCVA) – Urban Baby Beginnings (UBB)
Minority AIDS Support Services (MASS)
Sentara Healthcare

Pittsylvania/Danville

Piedmont Access to Health Services (PATHS)
Sovah Health (Life Point)

Richmond/Petersburg

Richmond Henrico Health District (RHHD)
Central VA Health Services (CVHS)
Capital Center of VA (CCVA) – Urban Baby Beginnings (UBB)
Crossover Health Center
Health Brigade
Sacred Heart
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

CHWs for a Healthy Virginia project also intends to address the issue of sustainable financing for CHW programs. Historically, CHW-based community impact models has been limited by a lack of viable financing options. IPHI is developing a framework to identify, pilot, and evaluate CHW and community resource financing models. Then, in collaboration with local partners, IPHI will develop and pilot region-specific financing models for CHW and community resource providers to evaluate and demonstrate the return on investment and social benefits.

This CHW for a Healthy VA project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $4.3 million with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

To learn more about CHWs for a Healthy VA, please contact Senior Program Manager Valerie McAllister at vmcallister@institutephi.org or 804-269-8331.

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