Submitted by Diane Driscoll
Zufall Health Center, the SNAP-Ed education provider for Morris County, recently partnered with the Madison Housing Authority to offer classes to their senior residents. NJ SNAP-Ed, a part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is a nutrition and fitness education program aimed at teaching NJ residents how to make healthy, budget-friendly food choices and lead more active lives. SNAP-Ed classes aim to reduce hunger and prevent obesity, providing participants with practical information on nutrition, cooking, food safety and physical activity.
Carla Adorno, Zufall’s SNAP-Ed Community Health Worker, provided a 4-week nutrition, cooking, and exercise class “Eat Smart, Live Strong” to seniors living in the Madison Housing Authority’s Rexford S. Tucker senior apartments. Each class taught new exercises and provided a healthy recipe that the participants were able to help make and then enjoy together. Each week also focused on a different educational lesson, such as how to read nutrition labels, how to compare unit prices of items at the grocery store, how to set nutritional goals of increasing fruit and vegetable intakes, how to stick to the recommended daily food allowances for a senior’s diet, and how to increase daily physical activity goals to at least 30 minutes a day.
Jessica Kirchenbauer, NORWESCAP Social Service Coordinator for the Madison Housing Authority, stated “Zufall’s SNAP-Ed classes taught our senior residents good nutrition, how to make their food dollars stretch further and how to make physical activity a part their everyday lives. With Carla’s passion and energy about the SNAP-Ed Program, our seniors were very engaged throughout the four week series, and really enjoyed the healthy recipes. We hope to offer additional classes in the future so more residents can benefit.”
SNAP-Ed is a federally funded grant program by the United States Department of Agriculture/Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS) through the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH). SNAP-Ed is an extension of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps.
‘Long Standing Collaboration’
Zufall Health Center and Madison Housing Authority collaborate on programs for seniors, including a mobile dental health van and a senior health education series, “Live Your Better Life”. Their partnership has created a stable source of oral health care for public housing residents and those living in Section 8 housing throughout the city.
Zufall has been a key partner in providing high-quality, affordable and culturally competent healthcare to the residents of the Madison Housing Authority. Zufall has consistently offered access to high quality and affordable medical, dental, and supportive services designed to eliminate health disparities in our community. This collaboration has both increased accessibility of primary care health services as well as awareness of local resources among populations of special need and those most vulnerable and isolated, including public housing residents and seniors.
A recent publication on collaborations between PHPCs Health Centers and Public Housing Agencies in which the Madison Housing Authority participated was recently approved by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The publication, “Housing and Health: Building Partnerships to Support Public Housing Residents” was developed by the National Center for Health in Public Housing and the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC).
As stated in the publication, “The National Center for Health and Public Housing (NCHPH) and the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) are pleased to support this case study publication highlighting successful Health Center Programs and public housing partnerships to improve the health of public housing residents. The publication illustrates the power of cross-sector collaboration as a vehicle for promoting the health and well-being of residents of public housing.”
The relationship between Zufall Health Center and Madison Housing Authority (MHA) began in 2012 when MHA received a 3-year Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Program grant from HUD. Since MHA has completed the conversion of the public housing to Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), they are no longer eligible to apply for ROSS funding. However, the collaboration between the organizations has already been established, and there is ongoing communication, therefore joint programs will continue to develop. Zufall Health Center continues to offer dental services on their mobile van and education on the Affordable Care Act and health insurance opportunities to public housing residents. Future health education workshops, including parenting and money management skills are also being explored for residents. The study may be found at nchph.org.
(above, l-r) Marilyn McIntyre, Blanche Carney, Ardelle Walter, NORWESCAP Social Service Coordinator for the Madison Housing Authority Jessica Kirchenbauer, Sandra Clark, Zufall Health Center SNAP-Ed Community Health Worker Carla Adorno, Carmela Tribune, and Eleanor Gilhooley.
