Agency to receive state funding for minority health commission

By William K. Alcorn

The Youngstown minority health commission will be a stand-alone, autonomous organization.

YOUNGSTOWN — The city health district is one of six in Ohio to receive state funding to establish a local commission on minority health.

Besides Youngstown, the cities are Akron, Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Dayton.

“You have not only succeeded in establishing a focal point for issues and solutions in minority health in Youngstown, you have made history,” said Cheryl A. Boyce, executive director of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, in a letter to cities involved.

The decentralization of the state commission on minority health means groups and organizations in those six areas now must apply to the local commission rather than to the state for funding for their projects and programs, said Neil Altman, Youngstown health commissioner.

In her letter, Boyce said she was overwhelmed by the interest generated by this initiative in Washington, D.C., and said the “well wishes, support and attention of people throughout the nation” are with Youngstown and the others.

Altman, who announced the grant at Monday’s Board of Health meeting, said he is proud that the Youngstown health district was chosen to be the site of one of the local commissions on minority health.

The primary reason for establishing local commissions is the notion that people at the local level have a better idea than the state about their needs and on what money should be spent, Altman said.

A key difference in the Youngstown minority health commission from the other five is that it will be a stand-alone, autonomous organization, rather than a division of the health department, Altman said.

The Ohio Commission on Minority Health provided Youngstown with a startup grant of $64,889 for the period July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009. The grant requires a 25 percent local match, he said.

Considerable groundwork for the Youngstown minority health commission has been done, Altman said.

An established advisory board will be the nucleus of the commission membership, and Altman said he would like to be a member in order to keep the board of health informed about the health issues in the community.

Also, the health board recently named Felicia Alexander as director of the local commission.

Alexander said the commission will focus on, among other things, access to health-care services, both in the areas of transportation and financing; conduct a survey to identify gaps in service; and see what services exist and build on that.

She said a Community Conversation event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 17 at the health department, 345 Oak Hill Ave., at which residents can voice their opinions on what exists and what is needed.

alcorn@vindy.com