Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition

The Nevada Minority Health & Equity Coalition (NMHEC) was established in 2016 as a response to requests from community members and elected officials for a grassroots, locally driven organization that could interface between the community and state and local funders. NMHEC is committed to address and advance minority health outcomes in Nevada and to “move the needle” on poor health outcomes and statistics that contribute to significant health disparities among under served groups in Nevada. The development of the NMHEC was made possible by funding from the State of Nevada.

Strategic Priorities 

Capacity Building

Capacity building is necessary for building long-term impact.  It enhances partnerships’ collective ability to address health disparities by strengthening skills and knowledge and providing resources that enhance community engagement. This coalition aims to support capacity building in areas of policy, advocacy, community-based participatory research, and grant development.

Policy and Advocacy

Giving a voice to our most vulnerable is essential to what we do. The NMHEC is committed to work alongside cross-sectoral partners to highlight community concerns and advance policies and practices that address social determinants of health.

Research, Data, and Dissemination:   Research is essential to developing evidence-based interventions that can improve population health outcomes. In collaboration with research institutions, the NMHEC is committed to:

  1. Identifying and contributing to  interdisciplinary research needs that address the intersection between social determinants and health
  2. Collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data that better informs the needs of Nevadans

REACH

REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) is a national program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.

Through REACH, recipients plan and carry out local, culturally appropriate programs to address a wide range of health issues among specific racial and ethnic groups in urban, rural, and tribal communities with high disease burden.

In 2018, CDC funded 31 recipients to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic populations with the highest burden of chronic disease (i.e., hypertension, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity) through culturally tailored interventions to address preventable risk behaviors (i.e., tobacco use, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity).

A core principle of public health is that every person should be able to reach his or her full health potential. Through the REACH grant we are working to remove barriers to health linked to race or ethnicity, education, income, location, or other social factors.

Southern Nevada Health District is working with partners, coalitions and communities to:

Though our work will ultimately benefit all Southern Nevadans, our specific initiatives are focused in priority geographic areas and among priority populations. REACH communities have demonstrated that locally-based and culturally-tailored solutions can be effective in addressing gaps in health by race and ethnicity. These communities have seen decreases in smoking, reductions in obesity, increases in fruit and vegetable consumption, and improvements in healthy behaviors.

 

REACH Grant Achievements Year 5

 

 

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