KDHE Home - News 2002 - News Release
Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 12, 2002
Contact: Sharon Watson, 785-296-5795
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has received a new grant of $150,000 from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The grant represents continued support of Kansas' participation in Turning Point: Collaborating for a New Century in Public Health. Turning Point is a national program for public health improvement sponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
KDHE has participated in the Turning Point program since 1998. Currently, the focus of Kansas Turning Point activities is development of long-term capacity to address disparities in health status among racial and ethnic minorities in our state. A key element in that effort is better understanding of health data related to minority health status, coupled with partnership with minority communities to improve the documentation of health and disease in those communities.
"The goal of our state's public health programs is improved health for all Kansans," said Dr. Michael Moser, Director of Health at KDHE. "As long as the burden of ill health falls more heavily on racial and ethnic minorities in Kansas, we have not met our goal. This project is an important part of our response to disparities in health status. With these new grant funds, we will be able to expand the work of previous years and begin to apply the results of past work to grassroots community health improvement."
The Kansas Health Institute has been a critical partner to KDHE in Turning Point minority health activities. Soon, the partners will publish the first Kansas Minority Health Data Book. This will be a key tool to support other minority health improvement activities in Kansas. Over the coming year, the Kansas Health Institute will begin a new training program for minority community representatives to assist their efforts to use the health data in the Data Book to improve health and well being in their communities. The Kansas Minority Health Data Book will also be distributed to state policymakers and community health organizations to assure their access to crucial information needed to develop effective responses to minority health disparities.
"KHI and KDHE continue to see great value in working with local communities to address the issues of health disparities identified in Kansas," said Dr. Kim Kimminau, vice-president for research at the Kansas Health Institute.