The Dartmouth Health Center for Advancing Rural Health Equity (CARHE) is proud to announce it has selected its first four organizations in rural New England to receive funding for special projects. These organizations will receive funding from a grant obtained by CARHE for projects that align with CARHE's vision of ensuring everyone has a fair shot at a healthy life, no matter who they are or where they live. Selected from among 34 outstanding submissions, these teams will receive assistance from CARHE with project management, evaluation design, data analysis and visualization, partnership development, communications, and more.
The first four projects funded are:
- Farm Shares for Health: Improving Access to Healthy Food and Education for Rural Cancer Patients (a program of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Vermont)
This project aims to help food insecure cancer patients in Vermont gain access to more fruits and vegetables. Participants will receive a prescription for healthy foods and will be given a free CSA (community supported agriculture) share to a local farm, which will provide them with weekly deliveries of fresh, local vegetables. Participants will also receive nutrition education and coaching. - Early Childhood Region 1: Building Early Childhood Supports in Rural New Hampshire (a program of Monadnock United Way)
This project supports health development of families with young children in southwestern New Hampshire by creating and disseminating family supports through rural public libraries. By partnering with libraries, schools, family resource centers and other vital organizations, critical services and resources will be delivered to families and professionals supporting children and families. - Improving Food Security and Nutrition Equity for Residents of Income-Eligible Housing (a program of Willing Hands)
This project will study the impacts of food deliveries to income-eligible housing sites in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, specifically examining whether weekly deliveries of fresh food are improving residents' food security and health. The results of this study will help Willing Hands tailor their delivery services to meet the needs of these residents and will help inform other food security efforts in the region. - Supporting Community Collaboration to Address the Impact of Climate Change on Allergies and Asthma in Children in Rural New Hampshire (a program of New Hampshire Healthcare Workers for Climate Action)
This project will work with the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Hampshire and other partners to support children with asthma and allergies and to increase family access to weatherization and energy efficiency programs that can reduce allergy and asthma triggers. Additionally, this project will raise awareness about the health impacts of climate change and promote environmental stewardship in the Kearsarge region of New Hampshire.
"Our goal with CARHE is to bring the expertise of the academic health center together with the wisdom of the community. Our community partners deeply understand the health challenges that impact our rural populations, our Dartmouth Health clinicians, researchers, and educators can help find solutions," said Sally A. Kraft, MD, vice president of population health at Dartmouth Health. "These four CARHE-funded teams are working to develop important solutions to big problems and we are excited to be partners in their work."
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire's only academic health system and the state's largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 56 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the state’s only children’s hospital, and multiple clinic locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene and New London, NH, and Bennington and Windsor, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.