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HHS Announces Awardees of $250 Million to Fight COVID-19 and Improve Health Literacy Among Racial and Ethnic Minority and Vulnerable Communities
73 Local Governments Receive Awards
Washington, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced $250 million in grant awards to 73 local governments as part of a new, two-year initiative to identify and implement best practices for improving health literacy to enhance COVID-19 vaccination and other mitigation practices among underserved populations. The Advancing Health Literacy (AHL) to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 initiative is part of the Biden/Harris Administration's National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.
"The Advancing Health Literacy initiative is a vital part of the HHS efforts to help communities hardest hit by the pandemic access and understand COVID-related information," said Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Rachel L. Levine, M.D. "This funding, and the partnerships with local and community entities across the country, will help our national efforts to continue to tackle health disparities surrounding COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and treatment."
Health literacy is a person's ability to find, understand and use information and services to help them make health-related decisions for themselves and others. Health literacy is a central focus of the Healthy People 2030 blueprint for improving the health of the nation, which is sponsored by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Healthy People 2030 has elevated health literacy within one of its overarching goals: Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.
"COVID-19 highlights the importance of health literacy, of understanding public health measures and taking steps to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, RADM Felicia Collins, M.D. "Our new health literacy initiative will help local governments enhance their health literacy efforts to reduce COVID-related disparities within racial and ethnic minority populations and other vulnerable communities."
Over the next two years, awardee projects will demonstrate the effectiveness of working with local community-based organizations to develop health literacy plans to increase the availability, acceptability, and use of COVID-19 public health information and services by racial and ethnic minority populations. The projects will also focus on other populations considered vulnerable for not receiving and using COVID-19 public health information. Recipients are also expected to leverage local data to identify racial and ethnic minority populations at the highest risk for health disparities and low health literacy, as well as populations not currently reached through existing public health campaigns.
The initiative is expected to begin on July 1.
The awardees are:
| Grantees | City | State | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Montgomery | Montgomery | AL | $3,900,000 |
| City of Tuskegee | Tuskegee | AL | $3,000,000 |
| Town of Fort Deposit | Fort Deposit | AL | $2,992,292 |
| Benton County | Bentonville | AR | $3,900,000 |
| City of Pine Bluff | Pine Bluff | AR | $1,240,411 |
| Gila County | Globe | AZ | $2,571,740 |
| Maricopa County | Phoenix | AZ | $4,000,000 |
| Pima County | Tucson | AZ | $4,000,000 |
| Yuma County | Yuma | AZ | $2,073,177 |
| Alameda County Health Care Services | San Leandro | CA | $1,994,565 |
| City of Chula Vista | Chula Vista | CA | $4,000,000 |
| City of Fresno | Fresno | CA | $4,000,000 |
| City of Santa Ana | Santa Ana | CA | $4,000,000 |
| Fresno County Department of Public Health | Fresno | CA | $3,000,000 |
| Monterey County Health Department | Salinas | CA | $3,952,437 |
| Eagle County Public Health & Environment | Eagle | CO | $2,999,970 |
| City of Waterbury | Waterbury | CT | $4,000,000 |
| New Haven Health Department | New Haven | CT | $4,000,000 |
| District of Columbia Department of Health | Washington | DC | $3,999,923 |
| Broward County | Fort Lauderdale | FL | $3,875,000 |
| City of Jacksonville | Jacksonville | FL | $3,295,342 |
| City of Lauderhill | Lauderhill | FL | $3,875,000 |
| City of Albany | Albany | GA | $3,900,000 |
| Clayton County | Jonesboro | GA | $2,000,000 |
| Fulton County | Atlanta | GA | $3,900,000 |
| Hawaii County | Hilo | HI | $3,000,000 |
| Chicago Department of Public Health | Chicago | IL | $3,894,914 |
| City of Rockford | Rockford | IL | $3,614,521 |
| Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County | Indianapolis | IN | $2,861,449 |
| City Of Wichita | Wichita | KS | $4,000,000 |
| City of Baton Rouge | Baton Rouge | LA | $4,000,000 |
| City of New Orleans | New Orleans | LA | $3,900,000 |
| Boston Public Health Commission | Boston | MA | $3,875,000 |
| Baltimore City Health Department | Baltimore | MD | $4,000,000 |
| City of Frederick | Frederick | MD | $3,939,842 |
| Prince Georges County | Upper Marlboro | MD | $3,999,807 |
| Kent County | Grand Rapids | MI | $2,089,233 |
| Wayne County | Detroit | MI | $3,919,116 |
| City of Minneapolis | Minneapolis | MN | $2,040,000 |
| Kansas City Health Department | Kansas City | MO | $2,847,052 |
| City of Vicksburg | Vicksburg | MS | $3,000,000 |
| Town of Inverness | Inverness | MS | $3,000,000 |
| Washington County | Greenville | MS | $2,999,992 |
| Durham County | Durham | NC | $2,000,000 |
| Mecklenburg County Health Department | Charlotte | NC | $3,900,000 |
| Wake County Human Services | Raleigh | NC | $4,000,000 |
| City of Lincoln | Lincoln | NE | $3,526,006 |
| City of Newark | Newark | NJ | $3,875,000 |
| City of Paterson | Paterson | NJ | $4,000,000 |
| Bernalillo County | Albuquerque | NM | $2,092,836 |
| City of Albuquerque | Albuquerque | NM | $3,950,810 |
| Doña Ana County | Las Cruces | NM | $2,460,636 |
| City of Las Vegas | Las Vegas | NV | $1,670,000 |
| New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene | New York City | NY | $3,875,000 |
| Orange County | Goshen | NY | $800,000 |
| Westchester County Department of Health | White Plains | NY | $3,763,565 |
| Franklin County | Columbus | OH | $3,999,169 |
| Oklahoma City County Health Department | Oklahoma City | OK | $3,900,000 |
| Washington County | Hillsboro | OR | $3,998,575 |
| City of Reading | Reading | PA | $3,999,382 |
| Rhode Island Public Health Foundation | Providence | RI | $2,008,508 |
| City of Rock Hill | Rock Hill | SC | $3,875,000 |
| City of Chattanooga | Chattanooga | TN | $3,404,247 |
| City of Memphis | Memphis | TN | $3,900,000 |
| Shelby County | Memphis | TN | $3,955,982 |
| Dallas County | Dallas | TX | $4,000,000 |
| San Antonio Metropolitan Health District | San Antonio | TX | $3,999,933 |
| Salt Lake County | Salt Lake City | UT | $3,844,568 |
| City of Richmond | Richmond | VA | $4,000,000 |
| Fairfax County | Fairfax | VA | $3,875,000 |
| Public Health Seattle & King County | Seattle | WA | $3,875,000 |
| Snohomish Health District | Everett | WA | $4,000,000 |
| City of Milwaukee | Milwaukee | WI | $4,000,000 |
For more information about OMH, visit www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov.
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