Wellness for All: Building Healthy Communities
Buffalo, NY, 2002
Recent medical studies have found that there are dangerous gaps in the quality of care received by African Americans nationwide. This issue was illustrated in Buffalo by the 2001 study, “The Health Status of the Near East Side Black Community: A Study of Wellness and Neighborhood Conditions.”
Based on these findings, and following several needs-assessment sessions, public radio stations WNED-AM and WBFO-FM, commercial station WBLK-FM, Kaleida Health, the Black Leadership Forum, the Buffalo chapters of the NAACP and the National Medical Association collaborated on Wellness for All. This initiative sought to educate the community about minority health care issues in Buffalo, provided the public with a deeper understanding of minority health and its effects on this region, and enhanced an awareness campaign by the Near East Side Community Health Task Force.
The initiative consisted of five radio features, aired on both WNED and WBFO. The features explored the findings of the Buffalo study, including the high rate of heart disease and diabetes among minority residents, the lack of stores that sell fresh nutritious food in minority neighborhoods, an environment that discourages exercise, the use of the Emergency Room as a primary place to go for medical treatment and the high smoking rate among minorities in Buffalo.
The programs were followed by a public forum with expert panelists that aired live on WNED and WBFO. Two additional Community Health Workshops offered health-related advice, such as how to obtain free insurance enrollment, free screenings and take-away information.
Contact Information
WNED-AM
Pam Johnson, Vice President of Education & Outreach
Tel: 716/845-7006
WBFO-FM
Mark Scott, News Director
Tel: 716-829-6000
Kaleida Health
Gary Brice, Assistant Vice President
Tel: 716-843-7584
Awards:
WNED Round Two
Best News Series — Associated Press of New York
Bronze Certificate of Merit Excalibur Award
— Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, awarded to the Center for Hospice & Palliative Care
Additional Funding: Health Care Decision Making at the End of Life received $1,500 from The Joy Family Foundation for reprinting the project's "Advance Directives Guides," which were in high demand.