For Immediate Release
Community Transformation Grants Offer Major Lifeline to Local Disease Promotion, Health Improvement Efforts
Statement by
Georges
C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA
Washington, D.C., May 13, 2011 – “The American Public Health Association
congratulates the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today for continuing
its lifesaving work of preventing chronic disease and promoting health by committing
$100 million to support Community Transformation Grants, created by the
Affordable Care Act.
“Improving public health
begins at the community level and depends on strong support such as the grants
announced today that will help limit the burden of life-threatening chronic
diseases.
“Chronic disease costs the
United States nearly $1 trillion every year in treatment and lost productivity.
And the toll due to suffering and lives lost is immeasurable. The Community
Transformation Grants are a lifesaving component of the health reform law and
will help us build a stronger healthier nation, one community at a time. The
grants announced today will offer local communities an opportunity to improve
the health of its residents to a degree that has never been achieved before.”
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Founded in 1872, the APHA is the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. The association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health providers, educators, environmentalists, policy-makers and health officials at all levels working both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions. More information is available at www.apha.org.
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