Healthy Chesapeake Inc

Healthy chesapeake develops and delivers collaborative initiatives that support physically and mentally active lifestyles for seniors and children who might otherwise lack access to these opportunities. Fiscal year 2024, efforts included: 1)supporting and attending community resource and health fairs to distribute needed supplies for health and safety, such as back to school backpacks, water bottles; and many other needed items to support physical and mental health, such as educational handouts, food samples with recipes, toiletries, etc. More than 7,000 participants were served. 2)participating in multiple local and regional teams designed to support area youth with identifying resources, programs, and available activities for success, including an educational workshop and culinary education class created to support financial responsibility in teens and the chesapeake redevelopment and housing authority strong families initiatives supporting more than 150 individuals.

Healthy chesapeake promotes access to and engagement in programs supportive of physical, behavioral, and mental health. This includes a no-cost chronic disease management clinic for low-income individuals with uncontrolled diabetes / hypertension; support groups, on-site training; a variety of free health- and engagement-focused community events; and other efforts to promote healthy, active lifestyles, and promote social engagement. Fiscal year 2024, efforts included: 1)offering a free weekly high-touch chronic disease management clinic to address participants' medical, social, and transportation needs serving a total of 41 clients in this reporting year. Partnering with the foodbank of southeastern virginia and the eastern shore has provided over 42,000 pounds of food were distributed to clients. Hub clients are often seen over many years and participants have recorded an average 20% reduction in a1c levels. The reduction in a1c over the past four years has led to an estimated 95,530 reduction in healthcare spending on hub participants since 2021. 2)collaborating with chesapeake regional healthcare and the chesapeake rotary club to obtain a rotary international grant for the hospital system to purchase a mobile clinic, which will be utilized for the residents in the underserved neighborhoods of chesapeake and northeastern north carolina. 3)sponsoring multiple interns and student experiences both virtually and in person for on-the-job training in health promotion and community services positions. 4)facilitating and originating community coalitions for early childhood development, to provide critical prevention and early intervention strategies to improve outcomes and developmental goals for young children and their parents. Continuing support of a neighborhood family resource center. 5)continuing health literacy work with community partners to provide consistent health education and information across the city of chesapeake utilizing healthier 757's rewards for healthy living platform. 6)working with the united way of south hampton roads and the professional community intervention training institute to bring violence interdiction training, levels 1-4 to chesapeake and surrounding region.