Community Outreach

Improving the lives of our neighbors and friends is a way of life at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. Our goal is to create a hospital without walls, and to reach into the homes and hearts of our neighbors in need.

Healthy communities begin with healthy individuals. When one person feels well, he or she can help another. Eventually, an entire community can be transformed into a healthy environment for raising families.

Mortality rates due to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are among the highest in Cuyahoga County, creating critical medical needs in the downtown Cleveland neighborhoods surrounding St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

Here are some of the ways St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is helping:

Project T.E.M.P.L.E. (Teaching, Educating, Mentoring, Preventing, Leading Empowering)

Since 2004, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has partnered with University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center to provide breast health education. At least 300 African-American women are educated on breast health and breast cancer annually. This program, funded by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio Affiliate, also inspires many participants to enroll in the St. Vincent Charity Medical Center Health Advocacy Program. Participants receive assistance with health care navigation, scheduling and completing their recommended mammogram appointments.

Healthy Heart Program

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center offers cardiovascular screenings, blood glucose and cholesterol screenings and other health education and promotion services, such as flu shots, nutrition and exercise programs.

Lupica Towers Initiative

The Lupica Towers community faces many social problems within the building, including crime, mental health issues and access to medical care. This initiative seeks to combine preventive health interventions, such as health screenings, education and advocacy, along with empowerment-building activities, such as women's groups, resident activities and community activism, encouraging and supporting residents in making healthier lifestyle choices.

Marion Sterling School Community Partnerships (MSSCP)

Marion Sterling Elementary School is a pre-K — 8 public school located in the Central community with an enrollment of approximately 500 students. MSSCP was formed in 2005 to coordinate and expand the volunteer efforts of a number of community organizations all working to create and support programs and activities for the student body. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is one of more than 10 Central neighborhood based organizations that make up the partnership.

Advancing Central's Health Together (ACT)

In 2005, Cleveland State University (link to www.csuohio.edu) and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center were awarded funds for a grant entitled, Engaging the African-American Community in Reducing Obesity and Its Consequences: Testing Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Methodologies in Cleveland, Ohio. The Advancing Central's Health Together (ACT) project was a four-year partnership funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH/NCMHD) through a planning grant and conducted in an urban neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio in the Central Statistical Planning Area. The project comprised two aspects:

1. Involve community members in the process of CBPR to develop an activity to address obesity and
2. Implement the pilot intervention activity to include nutrition and fitness.

Major Objectives of ACT

• Develop a partnership between Central residents (through grass roots level outreach initiatives existing at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center) and Cleveland State University, wherein both citizens and scientists understand CBPR.
• Identify an intervention research project through which to test the CBPR methodology and partnership processes.
• Implement one or two pilot intervention projects within the Central neighborhood using CBPR principles.

Photo Voice

Throughout the project, a community group, self-identified as the Central Community Healthy Group (CCHG), met consistently to assess, guide and work closely with project team to support the associated activities.

One of the hallmarks of a CBPR project is to build trust and sustainability with the target community. Three strategies were identified during the project that contributed to the capacity building and sustainability of the CCHG members: 1) leadership training, 2) social marketing, and 3) Photo Voice project. Through a series of trainings, the CCHG members honed their leadership skills which enhanced their ability to advocate for themselves and their community. Social marketing surfaced as a strategy to inform more community members about healthy living and nutrition. Through CCHG brainstorming and consensus, the slogan, “Eat Healthy, Feel Good, Live Longer” emerged. Activities were initiated to distribute healthy recipes at various locations in the community.

One such activity was the Photo Voice project. Photo Voice enables people to identify, represent and enhance their community through a specific photographic technique. Twelve CCHG members documented their experiences of the strengths and weaknesses of the Central neighborhood with respect to the slogan, “Eat Healthy, Feel Good, Live Longer” through photography. They were taught how to take photos using a simple disposable camera and instructed to shoot each photo around specific themes (social structures, prevention & treatment, social support, diet & nutrition, and environmental factors). The hope of this booklet is to view the Central neighborhood through the eyes of some of its residents.

Three publications emerged from this project: the Community Engagement Toolkit, the Community Engagement Evaluation and the Photo Voice Project. For more information please contact Lena Grafton, Director of the Community Outreach Department.

Minority Health Month 2010

April is Minority Health Month and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is celebrating with a series of events that are free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Community Outreach Department at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Central Community Healthy Group, all events will take place at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in the St. Vincent de Paul Room.

For more information, contact Patricia Terstenyak 216.241.6395 or patricia.terstenyak@stvincentcharity.com.