| The Community Health Advocacy Partnership, Inc. is a Florida not-for-profit corporation. CHAP�s mantra is �Enjoy Good Health!� The primary mission of CHAP is to advocate, promote and protect the health and safety of every community member in Florida by facilitating the access and delivery of quality health services and promotion of health care standards and values that are beneficial to all communities and people, especially minorities, the poor, unemployed, underemployed, uneducated, underserved, uninsured and underinsured.
The community vision of CHAP is that �all residents of the Florida communities live well and have access to resources needed to ensure wellness across generations.�
Additionally, CHAP is dedicated to ending health disparities in the state of Florida employing action oriented community based health prevention, intervention, education, empowerment and advocacy programs. Program Integration of community disease prevention, education and advocacy programs is CHAPs� ultimate objective.
CHAP works in partnership or affiliation roles with individuals, groups, and organizations in achieving strategies for the empowering of communities through efforts that promote community revitalization, education, public safety, economic and business development, community pride and working toward the coverage of the uninsured, while improving the overall health care quality of life for all citizens.
CHAPs Board of Director�s consists of a broad, diverse group of community leaders, with a record of public service focusing on low income, unemployed, underemployed, poor, illiterate, underserved and uninsured citizens and neighborhoods in our very diverse communities. The various diverse organizations that they �serve,� represent or administer on a daily basis are Bay Area Medical Association, Black Nurses Association, Tampa Housing Authority, First Baptist Church of College Hill , WTMP Radio, Access Health Solutions Minority Physicians Network, , USF McNair, Jenkins Scholars & Honors Programs, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Pastor�s On Patrol Ministerial Alliance, Young Middle & Sheehy Elementary School Advisory Council, Jackson Heights NFL Youth Education Town, Project C.H.O.I.C.E., Hillsborough Central Health Start & Interagency Management Team, East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership, Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network, Heart of East Tampa Front Porch Council and East Tampa Business and Civic Association, Moffitt Cancer Center.
CHAP has identified a need to create diverse access points to critical health prevention, health education and health advocacy services as a community driven, participatory resource. In this regard CHAP has created Community Health Access to Mobile Prevention Stations (CHAMPS) that will provide community based screening, prevention and education services for Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Stroke Prevention, and Obesity with a particular emphasis on improved health outcomes for minority .
In each instance cited above, issues of access, prevention intervention and education are essential to beneficial outcomes for patients and communities consisting of poor, illiterate, underserved, underemployed and uninsured citizens. CHAP Programs are designed to enhance the possibilities for beneficial outcomes in each of the aforementioned areas.
Project Goal Objectives & Design:
CHAP has as its primary objective, the development of health prevention, education and management programs that are comprehensive and sustained, with a principal focus on the improved health of the family unit. In this regard, CHAPs� proposal is to provide Tampa Bay Area families with an opportunity to receive a comprehensive family health risk assessments to serve as the basis of designing �Enjoy Good Health� family community based Prevention, Education and Disease and Case Management Programs.
The expanded view of this program is to not only improve the health of those afflicted with these diseases through effective community based disease and case management, but to also provide preventative education to family members who are mostly likely at-risk for the diseases due to lifestyle, family history and cultural influences. �Covering the Uninsured� and providing medical services to those patients who have no access to health coverage is a principal responsibility and objective of the physicians and nurses that are willing providers to the poor and underserved.
Maintaining data from the initial assessment throughout the program period will be accomplished by employing cutting edge technology and program design modules to be completed weekly and reviewed with the program coordinators. These modules will focus principally on lifestyle, social habits, health choices, environment and actual behavior.
CHAP is dedicated to providing program flexibility to the participants. Families will be provided the options of attending classes at home, online, at faith based institutions, local schools and libraries, community centers, health facilities higher education institutions (USF/HCC). Increased awareness among families about the effect that the choices that each individual makes regarding food, exercise and personal health & wellness inquiries and follow-up is critical to sustained enjoyment of good health. Self Empowerment is the ultimate benefit of the program that is designed and customized to promote sound, reasoned, common sense decision making about personal and family health.
It is in this regard that we will implement as the foundation of our proposal the family empowerment model that employs the concept of appreciative inquiry as an assessment tool to promote family developed customized health projects, with self determined goals and objectives to promote sustained family awareness and focus on improved health outcomes.
C.H.A.P. Health Advocacy Centers
A new innovative approach to proactive community health collaboration and evidenced based health education and prevention: The Dr. James O. Brookins, Sr. Community Health Advocacy Center is in the heart of East Tampa. The Center is jointly occupied by C.H.A.P., Community Health Advocacy Partnership; BAMA, Bay Area Medical Association (Tampa Bay Area Component Association of the National Medical Association); TBNA-Tampa Black Nurses Association and C.H.A.P. �s Health Literacy Program.
The programs offered by the center focuses on community based health education, prevention, intervention disease and case management. The center also serves as an information and referral hub to social and other services available throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Most importantly, the center is developing a community health corp to create a circle of care and support for poor, underserved, unemployed, uninsured patients and communities.
Family Health Risk Assessments and Family Needs Risk Assessments will be provided to program participants. The focus of all programs will be increasing awareness among families about chronic disease risks and health prevention. Local churches, civic organizations, neighborhood/civic associations and businesses serve as partners and referral agents for families and individuals with special needs. Under the leadership of the Black Nurses on Patrol, we plan to take these services to the homes of families and individuals who are unable to access the center. CHAPs� Community Health Youth Corp will be coordinated by the physician members of BAMA, with the SNMA and MPSS serving as liaisons to Hillsborough County Schools to foster healthy, active lifestyle awareness and a formal program for mentoring in the allied health professions.
It is our vision to develop these health advocacy centers throughout the state in urban and rural communities where health disparities are at crisis levels. This approach is designed to empower communities through volunteer efforts that encourage accountability and responsibility and self determination for understanding and choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. CHAP currently partners with Pastor�s on Patrol, the local ministerial alliance to incorporate health prevention and education messages in their weekly morning services and Sunday School Programs. Additionally, we are working with The Heart of East Tampa Revitalization Council (Governor�s Front Porch Florida Initiative) as the chair of their community engagement committee.
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