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(DANVILLE, VA) -- The Dan River Region Cardiovascular Health Initiative (DRchip) Program has been selected as the 2003 recipient of the International Society of Hypertension in Black’s (ISHIB) Outstanding Community Service Award. The Award was based on DRchip’s community work to bridge the gap of health disparities among ethnic minority populations.
ISHIB is an international, non-profit, professional, medical membership Society devoted to improving the health and life expectancy of ethnic populations. ISHIB’s focus includes hypertension, diabetes, stroke, lipid disorders, renal disease, and other related cardiovascular diseases. These health concerns are addressed through provider, patient, and community education programs. In addition, ISHIB conducts clinical trial research related to hypertension prevention and treatment in ethnic populations and publishes the Society’s Ethnic & Disease, a peer-reviewed, medical journal.
The ISHIB Awards Program is the Society’s most comprehensive recognition program. Since its inception in 1986, a select number of individuals and organizations have been recognized for their support, contributions and advances in medical research and community outreach. The ISHIB Awards Program encourages research efforts designed to improve the cardiovascular health of ethnic populations and recognizes community programs that stimulate participation in hypertension education and prevention. Through the Awards Program, ISHIB believes it can stimulate research, encourage quality publications, and fuel leadership that advances the work of improving health and life expectancy in these populations.
The ISHIB Community Service Award is offered annually and recognizes individual or group efforts to improve health in a community. The following is a partial list of some organizations that have won the community Service Award in the past:
- Church Community Health Awareness and Monitoring Program
- National Black Women’s Health Project
- Cleveland Council of Black Nurses
- Healthwatch Information and Promotion Services
- Lighten UP!
The 2003 ISHIB Outstanding Community Service Award will be formally presented during its annual international interdisciplinary conference, which will be held in Ghana in December.
DRchip is a private, non-profit community based cardiovascular risk reduction program that works toward impacting the devastating effect of heart disease in the Dan River Region. Composed of more than forty community partners (businesses, faith-based organizations, coalitions, professionals, and concerned citizens), DRchip has developed a number of activities to improve community cardiovascular health including (1) HealthSmart, a middle school program, that addresses healthy heart and living choices; (2) Community cardiovascular education and screening to educate community members about cardiovascular disease and to identify those in the community with cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol levels. DRchip also implements the American Heart Association’s ‘Search Your Hear’ and ‘Heart At Work’ programs, which many businesses and faith-based organizations utilize to promote healthy lifestyles.
The work of DRchip is supported by grants from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, the Danville Regional Health Foundation, and the Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control.
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