Community Wellness Program

These programs take health education, information and related services directly to community members in need, focus on preventable health care and empower thousands of residents to become proactive in successfully managing existing health conditions and preventing chronic disease.

This project is part of CHA's Response to Disparities.
(Click here for a complete list of projects)

Poor health outcomes for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are apparent when comparing their health indicators against those of the rest of the U.S. population. These populations experience higher rates of illness and death from health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, specific cancers, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, asthma, hepatitis B and obesity.

The existence of racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, access to care and quality of care stands in direct opposition to the mission of Catholic health care and the Catholic social tradition. To shed further light on this problem and how our ministry is addressing it, CHA asked its members for information about their initiatives to create a just health care system and increase access to all God's people in need.

In response, many unique approaches that are replicable were submitted. The information received underscores Catholic health care's shared commitment to:

• Promote and defend human dignity.
• Attend to the whole person.
• Care for those persons who are poor and vulnerable.
• Act on behalf of justice.
• Steward resources.
• Act in communion with the church.

As a vibrant community of members, CHA's goal in this activity is to engage the ministry in a conversation about the continued need for initiatives that open opportunities for access to quality health care for all, regardless of racial or ethnic background. If you know of a program that can be shared with others, please submit program information so that we can continue to highlight your efforts and share practices across the membership.