Pensacola clinic has $100K to fight heart disease, and they want input on how to spend it
A local organization recently received a $100,000 grant to combat heart disease in the Pensacola area, and now it is seeking community input on where to best invest the funds.
Health and Hope Clinic is one of five clinics in Florida that recently received a grant from biotechnology company Amgen to improve cardiovascular health outcomes in the Black community.
Sally Bergosh, executive director of Health and Hope Clinic, invited medical professionals, culinary experts and prominent leaders to form a community advisory board, which met for the first time July 12 and discussed potential strategies to maximize the impact of the grant.
The board will meet at least four more times over the next year to consider the pros and cons of their efforts. They are asking for community input and participation on multiple levels, such as advertising and hosting events to generate conversation about improving health outcomes among Black residents.
Related: HCA Florida West breaks ground on 'necessary' multi-million dollar clinic in Pace
Related: National volunteer group bringing free health care to Milton, but they need help to do it
The CDC reported in 2021 that Black individuals have the highest percentage of heart disease-related deaths at 22.6% compared to other race and ethnic groups. The percentages of all deaths for all races and ethnic groups caused by heart disease in 2021 was 17.4%.
Research by organizations like the American Heart Foundation suggest that the Black community has been more susceptible to issues like heart disease due to factors like food inaccessibility and lack of care.
"We've seen the rate of cardiovascular disease and cancer skyrocket since processed food came onto the scene in America in the 1950s," said Dr. Erin Mayfield, who is assisting with the advisory board.
During its inaugural meeting, the committee focused on how to raise awareness for the issue while simultaneously encouraging individuals to improve their decision-making surrounding food and other risk factors for heart disease like smoking.
The board discussed creating media campaigns that will make individuals more aware of their medical health, provide them resources to improve their health if needed and show people that achieving a healthy life is possible.
"Health education is everything," Bergosh says.
In Dr. Monica Sanford's experience, many Black patients don't want to know their health status out of fear of what they will find in a medical check-up. A master's student of hers even showed hesitation practicing with equipment due to fear of knowing.
"This is someone who is educated, but knows their family history and that scares them," Sanford said.
"Sometimes they wait so long that they don't even know they have an issue until they have a stroke, or a heart attack or kidney failure," she added.
A portion of the grant received by the clinic enables them to create pocket gardens, miniature versions of gardens which can fit within a small pot, to produce healthier food alternatives for those seeking to improve their nutrition. Bergosh explains that creating fresh food and vegetables is a priority for the assistance they want to provide to the community.
According to the clinic, the local zip-code areas with the biggest discrepancies in care are: 32503, 32505, 32506, 32507, 32514, 32526. They will be targeting these areas to begin their campaign and hope that its effectiveness will ripple throughout the community.
The Health and Hope clinic was founded in 2003 by the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association in order to assist and meet the needs of the medically underserved or uninsured. Since their founding, they have provided over $15 million worth of services for 18,000 patients and counting.
Have any questions on construction or other developments? Please send an email to ebunch@pnj.com to have it potentially looked into.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Health & Hope establishes community advisory board for heart disease
