HOW REACH BUILDS
HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES

REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) is a national program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. In 2018, Penn State College of Medicine was one of the recipients of the REACH awards to work with the communities of Lebanon and Berks counties. 

We actively engage members of the community to plan and carry out proven strategies that are culturally appropriate to prevent chronic diseases, promote healthy behaviors, and address the root causes of racial and ethnic health disparities.

To see our project for Lebanon County, please visit BetterTogetherLebanon.com

CONNECTING AND COLLABORATING
WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERS:

REACH creates partnerships to identify the unique needs, assets, and opportunities of each community to implement what works in these areas:

Physical Activity

Improving spaces and providing safe places to walk and get active, and promoting physical activities in community events and classes at local recreational facilities (eg: local parks).

Nutrition

Expanding access to affordable and nutritious food (eg: farmers markets), informing parents of breastfeeding benefits and resources, and increasing community awareness of local resources available to them.

Diabetes Prevention

Promoting referrals to bilingual preventive services and support collaborations between community health workers and health professionals.

A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY

REACH will help provide locally based and culturally tailored solutions to empower our partners to build healthier communities.

HOW REACH CAN SUPPORT
YOUR COMMUNITY:

• Technical assistance:
  program implementation
• Program Evaluation
• Resources:
  presenters, community health workers
• Marketing of community health events
• Translation of Materials

WE CAN SUPPORT COMMUNITIES BY:

• Making cities more walkable
• Implementing breastfeeding initiatives
• Training of community health workers
• Improving access to healthy food

Due to CDC requirements, there are certain restrictions on resources and services that we cannot provide. Examples that we cannot support include:

• Food and Beverages
• Entertainment

Contact the Berks County REACH Team

Diana Rodriguez

Andrea Murray