Lake Cumberland District Health Department (LCDHD) is pleased to announce it has received a grant for $593,321 from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Rural Health Services Outreach Program to provide cardiovascular disease education and activities in Casey and Cumberland Counties.
HRSA awards grants through a competitive application and review process. The target population for this project is congregation members of two churches located in Casey and Cumberland Counties as well as individuals in the surrounding community. Residents of these counties share many of the same health woes that come from unmet primary prevention healthcare needs. Kentucky residents have high rates of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and common medical problems, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. According to County Health Rankings, residents of these counties have some of the poorest health habits in the state. Cumberland ranked 83rd and Casey 90th out of Kentucky 120 counties for behaviors such as smoking, obesity, and inactivity.
LCDHD has partnered with Centerpoint Church of the Nazarene, Dunnvile Christian Church, Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, and Marshall University Research Corporation to implement the Heart 4 Change program. This program is designed to reduce the participant’s cardiovascular risk factors through blood pressure monitoring, blood pressure control education, as well as other education and activities.
“We want to see our residents achieve their full life potential,” says LCDHD’s Executive Director Shawn Crabtree, “with these grant funds, we will seek to provide the education and tools needed to prevent chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease.”