Duval Health Department Gets Grant To Address Health Disparities Among COVID-19 Patients

Health departments all over the United States have been working hard during this pandemic. Many have come up with detailed plans to combat this once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. Wherever we live in the United States, we owe thanks to health departments and healthcare workers. There’s so much more we can say regarding that, but we also need to talk about disparities. Certain communities were hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. And with these disparities, there are probably lessons to learn as well. Addressing health disparities, especially for high-risk populations, is important.

This is why the Duval County Health Department, in Jacksonville, Florida, has received an important grant. This grant will study the health disparities among Black and Hispanic communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department was selected for this grant by the Centers for Disease Control. According to the Department of Health, 8% of white residents have been infected with COVID-19 compared to 12% of Black residents and 10% of Hispanic residents. In other races, the county saw a combined infection rate of 18%. That’s why Duval County’s Health Department will be addressing health disparities among these communities after being awarded this $5.6 million grant.

Before we get to this story, as usual, we’re going to share a relevant grant. Here’s a grant for USA public and private nonprofits to address health disparities related to Lupus.

Health Disparities Among Communities Need To Be Addressed

So, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are focusing on Blacks and Hispanics as priority populations. This priority falls under the CDC’s COVID-19 Health Equity Project.

Here’s what Dr. Pauline Rolle, Medical Director of Florida Department of Health-Duval, had to say about this grant award:

“Health disparities are a problem in our county, and we are continuously strategizing on how we can reach those who need us most,” Dr. Rolle said. “This grant is a step in the right direction and will help us improve contact tracing, provide more culturally appropriate health education, increase our capacity to provide vaccines and decrease the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

It’s concerning that less than half the population in Jacksonville has been vaccinated, and there are real health concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus.

What Will These Grants Go Toward Specifically?

The funding for this grant will go toward the health department to hire a Health Equity team and establish a COVID-19 taskforce as a subcommittee of Duval County’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) partnership.

GrantNews Notes:

For more information, you can also visit the GrantWatch FAQ page. We wish you the best of luck with your grant-seeking!