Tufts Medical Center is tackling some of the most critical health issues in Dorchester and Chinatown through the Asian and Dorchester Health Initiatives.
Dorchester Health Initiative
This health initiative identified three health priorities, including:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Youth violence prevention
Six community-based organizations were selected through a competitive application process to provide a range of services to address these health issues. Codman Square Health Center and Kit Clark Senior Services will provide programming and services to help adults and seniors more effectively manage their diabetes and other chronic health issues.
Bird Street Community Center, Neponset Health Center, Sportsmen’s Tennis Club and Viet-AID will focus on youth violence prevention, with programming to help youth build life skills and provide positive learning and community service opportunities to help youth with positive choices.
Asian Health Initiative
The Asian Health Initiative’s grant recipients will focus on diabetes, obesity and smoking which continues to be a major problem in the Asian community. Five community-based organizations were selected to provide educational services, nutritional counseling to help community members with healthy decisions and activities to avoid weight gain, to better understand and manage their diabetes, and to learn about the consequences about smoking and strategies to quit smoking.
The five grantees are:
- Asian American Civic Association
- Boston AsianYouth Essential Service
- Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
- Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center
- The Wang YMCA
For additional information about the programs, contact Sherry Dong, Director of Community Health Improvement Programs at sdong@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
