Four new South Carolina community coalitions, including Wholespire Richland County, have joined Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas (HPHC), an initiative of The Duke Endowment to help address chronic health issues such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Each community will receive financial assistance from The Duke Endowment and technical support from the South Carolina Hospital Association and the South Carolina Office of Rural Health. The coalitions will serve to strengthen local infrastructure and community engagement to measurably improve population health around chronic prevention issues like unhealthy weight, diabetes, and heart disease.
“We are beyond excited for Wholespire Richland County, the communities it serves and the possibilities this substantial funding will support,” said Meg Stanley, executive director at Wholespire. “Co-Chairs Robin Cooper and Wanda Austin have done an incredible job navigating through the challenges coalitions often face and positioning the chapter for success.”
In the HPHC model, diverse community organizations collaborate to address systemic conditions that have led to poor health outcomes by implementing evidence-based interventions and sustaining them through policy, systems, and environmental changes. At the end of a one-year readiness phase, each coalition can reapply for up to five more years of funding to support implementation and policy change.