NMPP/BBKH Coalition
Cause Area
- Health & Medicine
Location
104-06 East 126th St., 4th FlNew York, NY 10035 United StatesOrganization Information
Mission Statement
The Building Bridges, Building Knowledge, Building Health (BBKH) coalition works to develop community-specific interventions designed to overcome barriers to healthcare to improve health outcomes and reduce racial-ethnic health disparities in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx.
Description
Who we are:
Started in 2005, the coalition includes local community-based and faith-based organizations, and health service providers who have come together to work on health disparities in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. The coalition is based at Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, which collaborates as one of the founding partners.
What we do:
Since 2006, the coalition has been working on a comprehensive diabetes prevention and management project, recognizing that diabetes is one of the most prevalent health issues among our target populations. The five-year initiative is funded by the New York State Department of Health-Office of Minority Health. Working at six levels of prevention, our goal is to reduce health disparities in diabetes by building a public health social movement in our target communities of East and Central Harlem, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx. As with all of our work, the program incorporates culture and faith as community assets in prevention.
Our program includes:
- Volunteer Community Health Workers, who work with diabetic patients to help them control their diabetes through better nutrition and health monitoring
- Diabetes Jazz Sundays held in our churches to educate congregants and community members about diabetes and to screen them for diabetes
- An annual Day of Hope community health fair event that combines education and screening with music and fun activities for the whole family, next planned for August 21, 2010
- A social marketing poster campaign that communicates diabetes prevention messages in English and Spanish
- An initiative to educate area health care providers on cultural competency, enabling them to be better guides for diabetic patients