Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services

To help foster statewide implementation of prevention activities, the New York State Department of Health issued the Prevention Agenda 2013–17 to address disease prevention and reduce health disparities.

All 58 local health departments were required to submit a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to the State outlining their strategies to advance the Prevention Agenda. To help energize the implementation of these CHIPs, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) is awarding grants to health departments with the most innovative and feasible projects to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities through the Advancing New York State’s Prevention Agenda: A Matching Funds Program to Implement Community Health Improvement Plans initiative. The Prevention Agenda offers NYHealth a timely opportunity to build upon its work in diabetes prevention by helping support initiatives that tackle the root causes of diabetes and other chronic conditions, such as obesity and smoking. NYHealth awarded the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services (CCDHHS) a grant to participate in this initiative.

CCDHHS used funds to focus on the Prevention Agenda priority area of promoting healthy women, infants, and children. It worked to create community supports for breast-feeding in Chautauqua County, with the aim of increasing resources for mothers of infants. CCDHHS collaborated with hospitals, practices, federally qualified health centers, employers, and other stakeholders to increase the proportion of babies who are breast-fed. The initiative trained health care staff members as certified lactation counselors through the Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding, as well as support a program that helps pregnant mothers quit smoking and encourages breastfeeding. It also established a 24-hour helpline staffed by a lactation counselor for mothers who are experiencing breast-feeding troubles.

See a full list of recipients from this initiative.