The New Prevention Fund

Pennsylvania and the New Prevention Fund:
An Investment in the Future Health of America

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) included the creation of a Prevention Fund – to provide communities around the country with more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, provide prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation.

Pennsylvania is receiving 6861626 from the Prevention Fund this year to reduce disease rates in the state and help ensure today’s children are not the first generation in U.S. history to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parent.

Preventing disease and injury is the most effective, common-sense way to improve health in the United States. Too often, however, we focus on treating disease and injury after they occur instead of preventing them – providing sick care instead of health care.

The ACA and the Prevention Fund give us the opportunity to turn that around – and provides the opportunity for all Americans to be as healthy as they can be.

Prevention Fund Grants Amount Description
Communities Putting Prevention to Work $25.4 Million*
  • Philadelphia is using funds to provide a free one-month supply of nicotine replacement patches to smokers who call the Pennsylvania Free Quitline.
  • A new tobacco prevention policy in Philadelphia increases penalties for merchants that sell tobacco products illegally to youth from $100 to $250.
  • In Philadelphia, nearly 500 corner stores have been recruited into the Healthy Corner Store Initiative; some local businesses have received resources for equipment upgrades, shelving and refrigeration to sell produce, low-fat dairy products, and lean meats. Over 1000 children a day are receiving healthier meals, thanks to the USDA After-School Meal Program in 40 of the 98 recreation center after-school sites. And, 200 Philadelphia schools have created School Wellness Councils, to incorporate physical activity into the school day and to eliminate unhealthy options foods from classrooms, fundraisers, and school stores.
  • Philadelphia is aiming to reduce illegal youth sales of tobacco. CPPW funds provided support to initiate in-person issuance of citations for merchants who sell tobacco products to youth. Since the start of the CPPW initiative, through the Division of Environmental Health Services at the Department of Public Health, 3,648 in-person citations have been issued for illegal sales to youth, affecting 1,740 tobacco sellers in Philadelphia. In the previous year, prior to CPPW, there were about 475 citations issued by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
  • Mayor Michael Nutter and Deputy Mayor of Transportation Rina Cutler recently approved plans for a North-South car lane to bike lane conversion project in Center City. In 2009, the City piloted a car to bike lane conversion on Pine and Spruce streets, running East -West in the City. Due to its success, this conversion has now become a permanent change. Expanding the car to bike lane conversion in the North-South direction is one of the City’s strategies to implement Philadelphia’s Complete Streets Policy.
  • The Food Trust and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are opening 10 new farmers’ markets in Philadelphia. Located in the areas of greatest need, the new farmers’ markets provide fresh food access to city residents. In 2010 through the CPPW initiative, the Point Breeze Farmers’ Market opened, in front of the neighborhood’s new community center. The farmers’ market welcomes SNAP benefits and Philly Food Bucks, a CPPW project that extends the purchasing power of SNAP. The Point Breeze Farmers’ Market is one of 10 farmers’ markets made possible by CPPW, bringing healthy fruits and vegetables into communities like Point Breeze that lack access to fresh, healthy foods.
  • The Food Trust and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are making the new Philly Food Bucks program available to all SNAP recipients in Philadelphia. Individuals who spend $5 worth of SNAP benefits at participating farmers’ markets receive a $2 coupon that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. The $2 Philly Food Bucks coupon can be redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables at any participating farmers’ market, increasing the purchasing power of SNAP customers by 40 percent and encouraging customers to spend their SNAP benefits on healthy produce. During the first year of the Philly Food Bucks project, participating farmers’ markets saw a 100 percent increase in SNAP sales.
  • The Food Trust and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are reaching over 500 corner stores across the city, specifically targeting corner stores in low-income areas with high rates of obesity. Stores are introducing at least four new healthy items in their stores such as fresh produce, whole wheat bread, and low-fat milk. Stores also receive training to learn about topics such as store layout and display techniques, and how to profitably sell healthy/perishable items. Over 100 corner stores will receive shelving and refrigeration to help them display and sell fresh and healthy foods.
  • As a result of CPPW funds, The Food Trust and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are working citywide with over 150 School-based Wellness Councils to identify and support new school-wide activities and initiatives to make healthy foods more available in schools, decrease the availability and consumption of unhealthy foods in schools, and promoting physical activity in schools through socialized recess and movement breaks.
  • The Food Trust and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are supporting the Department of Recreation to improve the nutrition of foods served at the afterschool program sites and providing training for recreation center employees on how to implement nutrition education activities to engage children in choosing healthier foods.
  • On May 23, 2011, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed an executive order to make the more than 200 city-owned recreation centers, playgrounds, and pools 100 percent smoke-free, including outdoor spaces. Approximately 1,000 signs will be posted in recreation spaces notifying visitors and staff about the new smoke-free policy. Thousands of wallet-sized cards with information about the policy and resources for help with quitting will also be distributed. The Departments of Public Health and Parks and Recreation will also make additional smoking cessation classes available at recreation centers throughout the city. This is in addition to free classes held throughout the year in other community settings. This order has the potential to impact more than 1.5 million residents.
Public Health Infrastructure Pennsylvania State Department of Health $400,000 (FY10) $500,000 (FY11); Philadelphia Department of Public Health $1,118,493 (FY10) $664,213 (FY11) Awarded to state, tribal, local and territorial health departments to improve their ability to provide public health services. The 5-year cooperative agreement program will provide health departments with needed resources to make fundamental changes in their organizations and practices, so that they can improve the delivery of public health services including: Building and implementing capacity within health departments for evaluating the effectiveness of their organizations, practices, partnerships, programs and use of resources through performance management; Expansion and training of public health staff and community leaders to conduct policy activities in key areas and to facilitate improvements in system efficiency; Maximizing the public health system to improve networking, coordination, and cross-jurisdictional cooperation for the delivery of public health services to address resource sharing and improve health indicators; Disseminating, implementing and evaluating public health’s best and most promising practices; and Building a national network of performance improvement managers that share best practices for improving the public health system.
Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Pennsylvania State Department of Health $166,089 (FY10) $159,835 (FY11); City of Philadelphia Public Health Department $183,688 (FY10) $355,230 (FY11) The funding, which is provided through Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) and the Emerging Infections Program (EIP) cooperative agreements, is intended to increase epidemiology, laboratory and health information systems capacity at health departments. The award is to support: hiring and training of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists, and health information specialists who can work on multiple infectious diseases; increasing the number of modern, well-equipped public health laboratories using electronic laboratory information systems to manage and exchange information effectively between labs and public health departments; and developing capacity for public health departments to participate in meaningful use of electronic health records, e.g. through implementation of electronic laboratory-based reporting according to national standards.
ARRA evaluation (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) N/A Grants awarded intended to help states “create additional tobacco quitters,” as well as increase data collection efforts for tracking flu-like illnesses to support ongoing pandemic influenza preparedness activities.
HIV Laboratory 136330 CDC awarded grants to expand HIV prevention efforts under the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).  The funding, allocated to CDC by the President as part of NHAS, will help to further focus HIV prevention on high risk populations and communities, as well as fill critical gaps in data, knowledge and understanding of the epidemic. The majority of the grants will support demonstration projects to identify and implement a “combination approach” to enhance effective HIV prevention programming in 12 hard-hit areas across the country.  These efforts will determine what mix of HIV prevention approaches can have the greatest impact in the local area, supplementing existing programs in these communities and helping jurisdictions to better focus efforts on key at-risk populations and fulfill unmet needs. Grants went to state and local health departments to increase HIV testing opportunities for populations disproportionately affected by HIV and help link HIV-infected persons with appropriate services, as well as to improve the reporting of HIV data.
HIV Testing City of Philadelphia Public Health Department $145,567; Hershey Milton’s Medical Center $145,567 CDC awarded grants to expand HIV prevention efforts under the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).  The funding, allocated to CDC by the President as part of NHAS, will help to further focus HIV prevention on high risk populations and communities, as well as fill critical gaps in data, knowledge and understanding of the epidemic. The majority of the grants will support demonstration projects to identify and implement a “combination approach” to enhance effective HIV prevention programming in 12 hard-hit areas across the country.  These efforts will determine what mix of HIV prevention approaches can have the greatest impact in the local area, supplementing existing programs in these communities and helping jurisdictions to better focus efforts on key at-risk populations and fulfill unmet needs. Grants went to state and local health departments to increase HIV testing opportunities for populations disproportionately affected by HIV and help link HIV-infected persons with appropriate services, as well as to improve the reporting of HIV data.
HIV Planning $906,024 CDC awarded grants to expand HIV prevention efforts under the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).  The funding, allocated to CDC by the President as part of NHAS, will help to further focus HIV prevention on high risk populations and communities, as well as fill critical gaps in data, knowledge and understanding of the epidemic. The majority of the grants will support demonstration projects to identify and implement a “combination approach” to enhance effective HIV prevention programming in 12 hard-hit areas across the country.  These efforts will determine what mix of HIV prevention approaches can have the greatest impact in the local area, supplementing existing programs in these communities and helping jurisdictions to better focus efforts on key at-risk populations and fulfill unmet needs. Grants went to state and local health departments to increase HIV testing opportunities for populations disproportionately affected by HIV and help link HIV-infected persons with appropriate services, as well as to improve the reporting of HIV data.
Emerging Infections Program $0 The funding, which is provided through Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) and the Emerging Infections Program (EIP) cooperative agreements, is intended to increase epidemiology, laboratory and health information systems capacity at health departments. The award is to support: hiring and training of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists, and health information specialists who can work on multiple infectious diseases; increasing the number of modern, well-equipped public health laboratories using electronic laboratory information systems to manage and exchange information effectively between labs and public health departments; and developing capacity for public health departments to participate in meaningful use of electronic health records, e.g. through implementation of electronic laboratory-based reporting according to national standards.
Capacity Building Grants N/A Money awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will go to various national, non-profit professional public health organizations to support efforts by state, tribal, local and territorial health departments to ensure successful adoption of effective practices that strengthen core public health infrastructure investments. These national public health organizations will provide technical assistance, training, and information for health departments to improve their public health infrastructure and the delivery of public health services.
Tobacco Prevention 114,853 (FY10); CDC Tobacco Quitlines $162,708 (FY11) State Supplemental Funding for Healthy Communities will be used to help states implement plans to reduce tobacco use through legislative, regulatory, and educational arenas, as well as enhance and expand the national network of tobacco cessation quitlines to significantly increase the number of tobacco users who quit. Money will also support states and terrritories enhance and expand the national network of tobacco cessation quitlines to increase the number of tobacco users who quit. Quitlines are hte toll-free numbers people can call to obtain smoking cessation treatments and services.
Health Care Surveillance $0 Grants to fund data collection and analysis to monitor the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the health of Americans and boost the collection and analysis of environmental hazards data to protect the health of communities.
Workforce N/A The programs are designed to build the primary care workforce and provide community-based prevention. States will receive funding to support comprehensive workforce planning and implementation strategies that best address local current and projected workforce shortages.
Training Centers—HRSA University of Pittsburgh $649,994 The Public Health Training Centers Program helps improve the public health system by enhancing skills of the current and future public health workforce. Funded organizations (1) plan, develop, operate and evaluate projects that support goals established by the Secretary in preventive medicine, health promotion and disease prevention; or (2) improve access to and quality of health services in medically underserved communities. Other PHTC activities include assessing the learning needs of the public health workforce; providing accessible training; and working with organizations to meet strategic planning, education, and resource needs.
Primary care and Behavioral Health Services Horizon House $481,562; Milestones Centers, Inc $500,000 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at HHS awarded grants to support and promote better primary care and behavioral health services for individuals with mental illnesses or substance use disorders. The grants seek to improve health by improving the coordination of healthcare services delivered in publicly funded community mental health and other community-based behavioral health settings.

*One-Time Funding from FY2010

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. Helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need–the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

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