EMORY UNIVERSITY URBAN HEALTH INITIATIVE
Atlanta is experiencing great health disparity. Poor people and people of color are more likely to live shorter and sicker lives and are less likely to survive chronic illnesses than their fellow Atlantans. The Urban Health Initiative serves people in underserved communities in metropolitan Atlanta. The initiative provides health education and advocacy, builds collaborative partnerships and develops best-practice models to advance equity in health and well-being.
The initiative offers the following programs: Community Teaching Garden The Community Teaching Garden has strong connections with the Bankhead, Vine City and Oak Grove communities in northwest Atlanta. They are in “food deserts,” as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. About 250 community members have worked in the garden or attended workshops. The garden initiative has implemented a number of programs, including: •
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The Young Ag-Entrepreneur Program: The program combines gardening/agricultural education, community leadership and business skill development in two sessions a week for ten weeks. 2019 LHD Annual Partners Guide
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The Tuesday Noon Together Program: The program serves lunch to senior citizens in the community. The meals provide opportunities for inter-generational engagement. The program also provides information on disaster preparedness to community residents and the homeless.
Dental Divergence Program This program addresses untreated dental pain and its resultant health and economic effects. It works with Grady Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department to direct patients with oral and tooth pain to the HEALing Community Center’s dental clinic. The program displays the dental clinic’s posters in the hospital, uses patient navigators and refers patients to the clinic. The dental clinic is frequently a more appropriate and cost-effective alternative to the emergency room.
