Pawnee Nation awarded prevention grant

On September 25, the Pawnee Nation was awarded a grant of $267,346 for Chronic Disease Prevention in Pawnee County.

PAWNEE, Okla. – The Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) awards are part of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative to support public health efforts to reduce chronic diseases, promote healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities, and control health care spending. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will administer the grants, which will run for three years, subject to availability of funds.
 
Overall, HHS awarded $50.3 million in new grant awards to 39 local health agencies. PICH is the newest generation in CDC’s long history of community efforts to create and strengthen healthy environments that make it easier for people to make healthy choices and take charge of their health.
 
Governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations will work through multi-sector community coalitions to reduce tobacco use and exposure to second hand smoke, improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and improve access to programs for preventing and managing chronic diseases. Projects will serve large cities and urban counties, small cities and rural counties, and American Indian tribes.
 
The Pawnee Nation PICH Program will focus on health promotion and disease prevention because we understand that health is not simply the absence of disease. Health is comprised of our physical, mental, and social well-being, and is influenced by a variety of factors called determinants of health. The program will address the range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors, such as behaviors and access to health care. Oklahoma has historically ranked poorly in many key health indicators. Most of these indicators relate to conditions that Pawnee citizens live with every day, such as poverty and limited access to primary care. Such conditions, along with risky health behaviors like smoking and physical inactivity, contribute to the poor health status of Pawnee County residents.
 
Specifically, the work that the Pawnee Nation will focus on includes better nutrition, increasing physical activity opportunities, and smoking cessation among adults.
 
To learn more about Pawnee Nation PICH Program, please contact Tiffany Frietze at (918) 762-3621 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..