Title
To declare April 2015 as Minority Health Month in the City of Columbus
Body
WHEREAS, In 1989, the Ohio Commission on Minority Health developed the concept of a high-visibility campaign designed to focus on health awareness and disease prevention; and
WHEREAS, the resulting thirty-day campaign would become Minority Health Month, which has been recognized nationally since 2000; and
WHEREAS, Minority Health Month was designed to provide crucial information to allow individuals to practice disease prevention, promote healthy lifestyles, showcase the providers of grassroots healthcare resources and information, highlight the disparate health conditions between Ohio's minority and non-minority populations, and to gain additional support for ongoing efforts to improve minority health year round; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Minority Health fulfills its mission by monitoring and reporting the health status of minority populations, mobilizing community partnerships and local actions, developing policies and plans to support health efforts, and informing, educating and empowering the community; and
WHEREAS, over the past year, the Office of Minority Health was heavily involved in educating community members about the Ebola outbreak through the planning of town hall meetings and presentations that explained the role of Columbus Public Health during the outbreak and answered questions and addressed concerns about Ebola; and
WHEREAS,OMH provided education to on a variety of health issues through 19 forums and presentations reaching 905 Somali community ; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the above-mentioned initiatives, the Office of Minority Health partnered with many advocacy organizations in 2014 such as the Alcohol & Drug-Latino Women's Program, OSU-James CCC Diversity Enhancement Program to host a Health and Wellness event impacting 120 residents; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Minority Health is working with myriad community partners to present programming, throughout April, that will bring attention to health issues, such as hypertension, substance abuse, domestic violence, nutrition and wellness, in the minority community; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby recognize April 2014 as Minority Health Month in the City of Columbus.