The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation held the third of six RICHES (Resources in Communities Helps Encourage Solutions) regional meetings at the Rowan County Health Department earlier this month.
The session, titled “Healthy Women Build Healthy Communities,” brought together health professionals and agencies serving women to share information, network and discuss the various issues affecting women’s health. It also provided a forum for participants to discuss available resources and best practices for serving the health needs of women in their local communities, especially minority women.
Supported by a one-year grant from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, RICHES aims to engage community-based organizations across the state to identify ways they can integrate women’s health promotion into their existing work with women, provide resources and facilitate the sharing of information.
Thirteen representatives from 10 area organizations participated in the Salisbury meeting, including the Rowan County Health Department and the Salisbury-Rowan Community Services Council.
During this pilot year, the RICHES program will bring together more than 100 professionals from 30 counties across North Carolina. Joy Cunningham, RICHES project director, said participants have responded with overwhelmingly positive feedback about the value of the meetings.
For more than 18 years, the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation has worked to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of women and young children across the state through its award-winning, statewide, bilingual public education campaigns and professional training.
For more information about the RICHES program, log onto its Web site at www.NCHealthyStart.org.