About the grantees FY19-23

FY19-23 

Grant: $1,458,737

The Healthy Beverage Partnership, a collaborative comprising health departments and community partners, is making strides in Colorado by promoting beverages with lower sugar content to children and families. Their efforts are funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Cancer, Cardiovascular, and Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Grant program, which aims to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases and address health inequities. The partnership is the only collaboration in the state focused on reducing access to sugary drinks, such as sweet teas, soda, sports drinks, juice, and more.

The partnership has worked with local public health agencies and community partners for more than 10 years to educate the public about the harms of sugary drinks and their long-term health impacts, including cavities, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more. As part of this work, the partnership focuses on addressing health disparities. The beverage industry's targeted marketing tactics and widespread availability of sugary drinks in convenience stores and retail outlets have disproportionately affected communities of color and those with lower incomes, exacerbating health inequities.

The Partnership first received a three-year grant from the Cancer, Cardiovascular, and Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Grant program in 2015, which it used to assess 319 food and beverage environments in the Denver Metro area; develop a regional messaging campaign with 15 million impressions in Colorado; craft a healthy food and beverage policy toolkit; and support the adoption of city-wide healthy vending policies across Metro Denver as well as an ordinance in Lafayette that banned the advertising of sugary drinks on kids' menus.

“Some of the partnership's biggest successes have been changing restaurant menus so that children have the option of milk or water first,” says Mandy Feeks, public health program coordinator with the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. “We want to make it easier for people to choose water instead of a sugary drink.”

The next round of funding from CCPD in 2018-2023 allowed the partnership to convene local coalitions within communities and implement more city-level policies for healthy beverages in Metro Denver. In addition, city councils in both Longmont and Golden passed healthy drinks in kids’ meal policies.

In 2023, the partnership received a third CCPD grant for an initiative called Healthy Beverage Choices for All, which supports municipal-level sugary drink reduction policies across Colorado.

The funding began in July 2023 and allows the Partnership to engage communities in parts of rural and semi-urban Colorado; convene local coalitions to lead efforts to pass municipal policies; and complete assessments to identify interest and support for sugary drink reduction policies.

The third wave of funding is already seeing results. The City of Denver recently adopted an ordinance to ban sugary drinks from being listed in bundled kids’ meal menus.

“We have been able to sustain this work and keep it moving and are starting to see these policies pass,” says Andrea Pascual, chronic disease prevention program manager with the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. “Folks are starting to understand that this is a needed change.”

Learn more about the Healthy Beverage Partnership at the Hidden-Sugar.org website and the Cancer, Cardiovascular, and Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Grant program website.

FY19-23

Grant: $2,817,459

The Denver Engaged & Active Communities grant supports the Denver Community Active Living Coalition program (CALC). CALC works to provide culturally appropriate education and programming, connect community residents and businesses to available resources and opportunities, promote and cultivate community action and leadership, and move forward policy, systems, and environmental changes that make it easier to walk, bike, roll, and use transit in Denver.

• CALC staff hosted, attended, and supported over 200 community events to help clean up trash, talk about safety, join walks, lead bike rides, teach bike skills, share maps, give away resources, distribute food, help with gardening, and more. 
• CALC recommended or implemented 18 policy or procedure updates, and 64 infrastructure changes, developed and updated the Denver Vision Zero Action Plan, and developed and implemented action items for Denver’s Safe Routes to School 5-Year Action Plan.
• CALC delivered four complete phases of the Micro-Grants Program, empowering 188 community-led projects that support community health, active living, and active transportation in Denver neighborhoods.
   

FY19-23

Grant: $3,423,000

Advancing Breastfeeding in Colorado (ABC) recognized over 400 partners as breastfeeding-friendly. The breadth of community partners engaged through ABC’s outreach was extensive. To reduce health inequities, the ABC team focused on organizations in the Denver metro area with individuals who earn low wages, hourly employees, and organizations that serve larger Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, Medicaid, Child Health Plan Plus, and uninsured populations. Through the support of ABC, community partners have implemented policies including:

• Provision of time and space for milk expression (at the organization and municipal levels).
• Optimal practices to support families’ lactation goals, knowing that at least 90% of Colorado parents desire to breastfeed/chestfeed.
• Stronger adherence to the Workplace Accommodation for Nursing Mothers Act, the state lactation law. 
   

FY19-23 

Grant: $3,491,649
 

Food in Communities (FIC) is a regional collaborative working to increase equitable access to healthy, affordable, and culturally important foods through food policies, systems, and environmental changes. FIC intends to collectively cultivate and sustain neighborhood and regional-level changes that support community-driven priorities and build capacity among community leaders, food policy councils, and coalitions to strengthen the local and regional food system. FIC works with community members, organizations, institutions, and public agencies across Adams, Denver, and Jefferson counties. 

The FIC team supported community leadership development and capacity building with resident leaders and community-based organizations by offering technical assistance and organizational consulting in collaboration with partners to build advocacy skills and knowledge. The FIC team and partners celebrated the following local and environmental advancements along the policy change continuum: 

Advocacy

• Cultivate Aurora: Community Greenhouse Project (2023).

Adoption (but not yet implemented) 

• Denver West Area Plan (2023).
• Denver East Central Area Plans (2020).
• Jefferson County Climate Plan Resolution (2021)
  • adoption of food systems priority areas

Implementation

• Golden Food Pantry Assistance Grant (2021)
  • Developed a relationship with the city of Golden to utilize a community grant opportunity.
• Hunger Free Golden Funding through City of Golden Tax Revenue (2023)
  • Sustained funding structure for the Food Pantry Assistance Grant, food systems infrastructure, and community engagement.
• Littleton Zoning Code Updates for Food Access (2021).
• Denver East Area Plan (2020)
  • Implementation of recommendations about food access projects, food insecurity initiatives, and existing food retailers.
    
     

FY19-23 

Grant: $1,945,842

The Larimer County Health Department Built Environment project served to develop and influence built environment policies within the Front Range communities of Larimer County to create access to physical activity opportunities within communities, including those impacted by health disparities. This project aimed to reduce Colorado's chronic disease and associated inequities through built environment interventions.

Multimodal index 

A collaborative team led by Larimer County Department of Health and Environment's Built Environment program developed a new tool to communicate neighborhood transportation options in Fort Collins or Loveland. The tool helps identify challenges and opportunities associated with walking, biking, and taking public transportation safely and efficiently. Using the Multimodal Index, the city of Fort Collins prioritized sidewalk construction. The city of Loveland used it to prioritize transportation, transit, and bike/pedestrian projects. The Multimodal Index was selected as a runner-up in Larimer County's Innovation Awards Program for 2020. 

Bike education

In collaboration with Bike Fort Collins, the Built Environment team created video demonstrations of how to ride bicycles safely to popular destinations like schools. Videos were also created to show high-risk routes. 

FY19-23 

Grant: $4,384,398

Students across Colorado are receiving better asthma care through the AsthmaCOMP program thanks to funding from the Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, and Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Grant program. 

Known officially as the Colorado Comprehensive School-Centered Asthma Program, the AsthmaCOMP program focuses on elementary schools with high asthma prevalence. The CCPD grant program, part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), has funded AsthmaCOMP nearly every year since 2005. AsthmaCOMP has provided the core structure that enabled the team to obtain additional funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to support regional sites across the State of Colorado.

Through the AsthmaCOMP model, asthma counselors now embedded in schools across the state help provide basic asthma education for families and teach them asthma self-management. For example, children who enroll in the program receive an asthma toolkit, which contains a spacer device and a peak flow meter, to help children learn to treat their asthma. The students can also receive quick-relief medication and an asthma care plan specifically for managing asthma at their school.

Oftentimes, barriers to care and access to basic resources contribute to poor asthma control. Fortunately, our asthma counselors screen for social determinants of health and refer families to community resources. This support has helped families and ultimately led to better asthma control. The program also strengthens the “circle of support” for students by engaging health care providers and facilitating communication with the family, school nurse, and health care provider.

AsthmaCOMP also provides training and resources for school nurses. More than 100 school nurses across the state have joined a professional development program and peer learning for asthma management - those nurses also receive the asthma toolkits and participate in webinars. 

According to Stanley Szefler, director of the Breathing Institute's Pediatric Asthma Research Program at Children's Hospital Colorado, CDPHE's support has been instrumental to helping grow the AsthmaCOMP program, which he helps oversee.

“CDPHE has challenged us to grow and expand our horizons for what we can accomplish,” Szefler said.

For example, the CCPD grant program has encouraged AsthmaCOMP to expand beyond the Denver metro area. AsthmaCOMP support is now offered in cities and counties such as Colorado Springs, Greeley, Lamar, and Grand Junction. AsthmaCOMP has reached more than 5,000 Coloradans since the program began.

“AsthmaCOMP’s growth and positive reputation have sparked school districts to ask how they can become part of it,” says Melanie Gleason, project manager for AsthmaCOMP.
 

“Seeing people want to be involved speaks to the success of the program.” 

Students are benefiting from the AsthmaCOMP program. Since AsthmaCOMP began, the schools that participate in the program across the state report that the approximately 200 students who participate each year improve their school attendance and participate in more school activities while improving their overall asthma control and self-care.

Because the students know when to seek help for their asthma, that limits the clinical impact, and students and their families experience fewer emergency room and hospital visits.

Learn more about the AsthmaCOMP program on the Colorado Department of Education Asthma COMP website and the Children’s Hospital Colorado community initiatives webpage.
 

FY19-23 

Grant: $1,564,797

The aim of the YMCA National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) is to increase the number of Coloradans with prediabetes or at risk for Type 2 diabetes who participate in the NDPP and increase the number of people who have access to diabetes prevention services. During the FY19-23 grant cycle, the YMCA NDPP:

• Enrolled 1,000 participants in a 9-county region.
• Partnered with 9Health/365 Health, YMCA of Northern Colorado, Metro Caring, more than 40 clinic partners, rural health connectors and county public health departments, Health Links, Aurora Housing Authority, Colorado Community Health Alliance, Colorado Access, and more. 
• Hired a bilingual health educator and offered the NDPP to Spanish-speaking participants, increasing program accessibility. 
• Provided free household memberships to NDPP participants, increasing their access to exercise. 

FY19-23 

Grant: $489,000

Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) runs a National Diabetes Prevention Program that works with rural populations at risk for or experiencing pre-diabetes for Type 2 diabetes. CCPH works in Chaffee, Fremont, and Saguache counties.

• CCPH maintains the Full Plus Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program (DPRP) Recognition status with the CDC, the highest recognition offered to NDPP programs through the CDC.
• CCPH launched four NDPP cohorts each year and worked with more than 360 NDPP participants, with about 50 people finishing the program each year.The program participants had an average of 7.7% weight loss in months 1-6 and 8.4% in months 7-12. Likewise, 65% of participants met their weight loss goal from their baseline weight in months 1-6, and 86 participants achieved their 4% weight loss goal and an average of 150 minutes of physical activity. 
• Chaffee County also offered free A1C (blood sugar testing) testing. Providing this service through the CCPD Grant Program helps bridge health inequities in rural populations. 

Supported through CCPH, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center launched a four-week curriculum-based group and one one-on-one intervention for Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME). The Salida Hospital District started this service, which was not previously available to patients. 

• In addition to the DSME curriculum, participants could participate in hands-on food preparation called “Cooking Matters.”
• When surveyed, participants rated the DSME program very highly.
• In a six-month follow-up, participants had an average of a -1.4 change in A1C compared to participants who did not participate in the program.

FY19-23 

Grant: $1,490,711

Adams County Health Department (ACHD) Diabetes Education Program, formerly the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) Diabetes Education Program, provides both Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) and National Diabetes Prevention Programs (NDPP). Its goal is to increase awareness of, access to, and participation in diabetes prevention and self-management education, especially in geographic areas with high poverty rates, diabetes, and other chronic diseases within the ACHD/TCHD jurisdiction. This includes Douglas, Arapahoe, and Adam counties. 

• ACHD partnered with 22 organizations to reach many different communities within the area. 
• During the FY19-23 grant cycle for NDPP, Adams County had 709 NDPP participants across 53 cohorts, including 26 telehealth sessions and two Spanish-speaking cohorts. Participants averaged a 5.36% weight reduction. 
• For DSMES, there were 369 participants over 43 cohorts. Participants had an average of a .9% reduction in their A1C levels. 

FY19-23 

Grant: $2,029,363

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) piloted a project to provide more fully integrated clinical pharmacy services to their integrated care model. The program, and CCH as a whole, focuses on providing these services along with primary health care services to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. CCH services are in the Denver metro area and the southeast Arkansas Valley region of Colorado.

• During the first few years of the grant project, the pharmacy team focused on creating procedures to enhance patient care and experience. This included creating a strong referral network of providers, which was vital to the program's success. 
• Patients who were managed by clinical pharmacists had their A1C lowered by an average of 1.5% compared to 1% for patients who were managed by just their providers. The data underscore the importance of clinical pharmacists in the management of diabetes. It also likely played a role in helping to increase the number of referrals to the program by showing clinical pharmacists’ efficacy in helping patients manage their medications. 
• This project also focused on advocacy on a statewide level for clinical pharmacy services. CCH supported legislation by testifying on the importance of clinical pharmacy services for our patient population. House Bill 21-1275 was passed, recognizing pharmacists as providers under Medicaid and requiring clinical pharmacy services to be considered reimbursable in Colorado. Furthermore, clinical pharmacists can now be included in annual cost reports for Medicaid and Federally Qualified Health Centers. 

FY19-23 

Grant: $1,976,298

Vuela con Salud, a community-based healthy lifestyle program for Latinos, implemented a community health worker (i.e., promotora)-led lifestyle intervention program focused on preventing diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Latino immigrants with low incomes and their families by providing community-based outreach, referring clients to health and social services, screening adults for cardiovascular disease risk factors, and providing the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) and Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring (SMBP) interventions. The Vuela program served individuals in the Denver metro area and Colorado Front Range, including residents from Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, Jefferson, Pueblo, and Weld counties. 

• Over the five-year grant period, Vuela for Health engaged thousands of Latino community members with low incomes through outreach events and programs.
• Vuela con Salud started 39 new NDPP groups with 2,030 enrollees and 13 virtual NDPP groups with 1,196 attendees.
• Vuela con Salud screened 2,981 individuals for high blood pressure. Of those individuals, 1,981 (67%) screened positive and were invited to participate in the Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP) program. Sixty-eight percent of those who screened positive were unaware they had elevated blood pressure.
• Vuela con Salud provided blood pressure monitoring devices to 122 participants.
   

FY19-23 

Grant: $2,102,693.50

Just Keep Breathing (JKB) is a program designed to provide asthma care at home, where health navigators assist families in managing asthma effectively. Families can often feel overwhelmed in a health care setting. By meeting families in their homes, the JKB team builds trust and empathy for their unique situation. Here are a few testimonials from families JKB serves:

“[Navigator] is an angel. She was so kind to me and my family. I feel so blessed she helped me and my son.”

"Thank you for coming all the way to my house and explaining things to me in Spanish, this was very helpful." 
 

The support JKB provides to families in the program does not go unnoticed by their clinical care team. These are a few notes sent to the JKB team from clinical providers: 

"Both Mom and [patient] were helped by working with your team. Thank you, thank you! ... Keep up the great work and making a difference!"

"We're also grateful for JKB program involvement to gain a better understanding of and support home management of [this patient's] asthma."

“This family has benefitted and appreciates working with your team. Taking Advair daily and control has improved. Kudos to the JKB team for helping to engage this young teenager!”

“Family says you are rock stars. Thank you for partnering in helping set the family up for success in her asthma management.”

Throughout the five-year grant cycle, the JKB participant demographic was even more diverse than the population served in the outpatient specialty clinic at Children’s Hospital. Of JKB patients seen during this grant cycle, 63.2% identify as Latino, and 77.5% benefit from Medicaid coverage. 
 

FY19-23 

Grant: $1,352,621

The National Jewish Health (NJH) comprehensive asthma management program built capacity for multi-component, comprehensive asthma management in participating schools in the San Luis Valley (SLV) and Lower Arkansas Valley (LAV). It also supported clinic systems quality improvement initiatives in participating clinics in the SLV and LAV. Because of their dedication and passion for this project:

• Nearly 900 students participated in Open Airways for Schools, learning how to manage their asthma better and thus improve their quality of life.
• Over 6,000 asthma education teaching sessions benefitted students, families, and caregivers.
• Students with asthma exhibited significant improvements in asthma control in both the SLV and LAV.
• 1,774 Colorado Asthma Care Plan and Medication Order for Schools forms were secured for students with asthma.
• Thriving communities of learning and practice for school nurses were established.
   

FY19-23 

Grant: $3,667,341

The Colorado Cancer Screening Program (CCSP) aims to reduce disparities in access to cancer screening among Colorado communities. With a foundation in patient navigation for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, participating safety net clinic systems across the state have successfully navigated eligible patients into 39,348 endoscopic CRC screening exams such as colonoscopy since the program’s inception in 2006. Cancer has been detected in 286 individuals. During the FY19-23 grant cycle:

• Twenty-four participating clinic systems successfully navigated eligible individuals into 12,122 colonoscopies for CRC screening, and cancer was detected in 88 individuals. 
  • The screenings detected 520 advanced colorectal polyps - the type of polyps that are most likely to develop into cancer - and the polyps were removed.
• A key accomplishment for CCSP and participating clinics was their engagement in a sustainability planning process for the navigator role.
• Between 2021-2023, the CRC screening rates continue to increase to pre-2020 levels, despite ongoing challenges in capacity, staffing, and access to health care services across the state. 
• CCSP supported clinic systems with building capacity for stool-based testing for CRC screening (seven clinic systems), hereditary cancer risk assessment (four clinic systems), and lung cancer screening (six clinic systems). 
   

FY19-23 

Grant: $5,513,973

The Alliance for HPV Free Colorado (Alliance) was a collaborative effort to implement a multidisciplinary approach to sustainably increase the completion of the HPV vaccine series for adolescents ages 9 – 17 years old in a 15‐county Colorado region.

• The HPV Free Community Advocate group worked to promote the HPV vaccine in local communities through community events, presentations, conversations with people in their networks, and participation in statewide media discussions of the importance of HPV vaccination. This included radio, television, podcasts, print interviews, blog posts, and social media. 
• Over 50 health systems were invited to participate in quality improvement (QI) projects. Forty‐one Denver Health clinics participated in QI initiatives. Posters, screensavers, and co‐branded materials were developed to support QI efforts within health systems. 
• More than 30 HPV 101 training sessions and Motivational Interviewing training sessions were delivered.
• Five paid media campaigns ran during this project period to reach the most people in a 15‐county region. The media was dispersed across cable, music, and video streaming platforms, broadcast radio, and online media (display, mobile, and video advertising).
   

FY19-23 

Grant: $5,435,589

Colorado Heart Healthy Solutions (CHHS) is a statewide, community-based program led by CPC Community Health that provides a comprehensive approach to addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors among underserved populations. CHARLAR (Community Heart Health Actions for Latinos/Locals At Risk), an 11-week skill-building and social support class focused on preventing, delaying, or managing CVD and diabetes, was delivered in collaboration with CHHS. The CHARLAR program primarily serves the Latino communities in the Denver metro area, focusing on Commerce City. 

• Health navigators (HN)/community health workers (CHW) and promotoras interacted with over 9,200 individuals, and of those, over 8,000 were identified as being at-risk for heart disease (at-risk is determined by not being in normal ranges with lipids, blood pressure, glucose, body mass index (BMI), global risk score, behavioral health assessment scores, or smoking status). 
  • Table 1 highlights these changes and shows improvements in key risk factors among CHHS participants who completed the program during the 2018-2023 grant cycle. 
• Through the project, HNs/CHWs and promotoras screened over 6,300 participants, and over 3,400 received in-depth health coaching. 

Table 1: 2018-2023 Grant Cycle Percentage Point Change in Key Risk Factors for Colorado Heart Healthy Solutions Participants