Implementing Strategic Planning and Technical Assistance Support for an Ohio REACH Partnership

The Cuyahoga County Ohio REACH partnership is working to eliminate health disparities across a range of health issues in six Cleveland neighborhoods and one large section of East Cleveland, aiming to impact over 40,000 residents, many African-Americans.

PHI’s Berkley Media Studies Group (BMSG) worked with the Cuyahoga County Ohio REACH team in developing an overall strategic communication plan to support policy and system change strategies. This included training REACH partners to engage in local advocacy, assisting with development of a policy agenda to support the REACH project strategies and activities, coordinating with REACH teams to develop and write two success stories of local REACH partner efforts, and providing technical support.

Thanks in part to the strategic planning support from BMSG, the Cuyahoga County Ohio REACH team launched a program aimed at increasing access to nutritious food options by developing partnerships in seven targeted neighborhoods with local corner stores, providing a branded healthy store “certification” for these outlets to provide more fruits, vegetables and other healthier fare. They also started a program to address racial health disparities in hypertension rates among Cuyahoga County residents, which resulted in more than half of 17 participating clinics showing marked improvement in blood pressure control among patients.