CDC REACH Expansion to York

How REACH Builds Healthier Communities

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. In 2024, Penn State College of Medicine was one of the recipients of the REACH awards to work with the York County Community. 

Connecting and Collaborating with Community Health Partners: 

REACH creates partnerships to identify the unique needs, assets, and opportunities of each community to implement what works in these areas:

Physical Activity
Improving spaces and providing safe places to walk and get active, and promoting physical activities in community events and classes at local recreational facilities (eg: local parks).

Nutrition
Expanding access to affordable and nutritious food (eg: farmers markets), informing parents of breastfeeding benefits and resources, and increasing community awareness of local resources available to them.

Early Care and Education
Implementing local-level policies and activities that improve nutrition, physical activity and breastfeeding and advance Farm to ECE.

Vaccines
Increasing awareness of, and access to, vaccines, specifically COVID-19.

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A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY

REACH will help provide locally based and culturally tailored solutions to empower our partners to build healthier communities.

How REACH can Support your Community: 

• Technical assistance:
  program implementation
• Program Evaluation
• Resources:
  presenters, community health workers
• Marketing of community health events
• Translation of Materials

We can Support Communities by:

• Making cities more walkable
• Implementing breastfeeding initiatives
• Training of community health workers
• Improving access to healthy food