Five-year grant builds on success of West Baltimore Reducing Isolation and Inequities in Cardiovascular Health collaborative, aims to improve health outcomes, address social determinants of health.
The University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) has been awarded a five-year, $5 million Health Equities Resource Communities (HERC) grant from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (MCHRC). This grant builds on the success of the West Baltimore RICH Collaborative, an initiative supported by a $2.4 million Pathways for Health Equity Grant from MCHRC awarded two years ago. That effort focused on reducing social isolation and inequities in cardiovascular health in West Baltimore.
As with the original initiative, the new project, West Baltimore Reducing Inequities in Cardiovascular and Mental Health Collaborative-Stronger Together (RICH 2.0), in collaboration with community, faith-based, academic, and health care organizations aims to reduce cardiovascular health disparities, improve health outcomes, improve access to primary care, and reduce health care costs. This project extends into three additional ZIP codes in West Baltimore and expands beyond social isolation to other aspects of mental health.
The project is led by Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD ’11, MS ’05, BSN ’04, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing, with support from Janette North-Kabore, MPH, and Asunta Johnson, MSHCM, project directors.