A decade of high blood pressure improvement

A decade of high blood pressure improvement

For the past decade, the High Blood Pressure Collaborative has focused on reducing strokes, heart attacks and other catastrophic health outcomes linked to hypertension. To celebrate the region’s steady progress and to lay the ground work for the next chapter in addressing chronic illness, the Collaborative has published a 10-year retrospective.

Health center achieves patient-centered milestone

Health center achieves patient-centered milestone

Over the past three years, His Branches in Rochester reduced wait times for patients, improved patient outcomes and created a work environment that was less stressful. Together these changes helped the safety net practice renew its Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) certification through the New York PCMH program, which began in 2018.

Initiative asks what prevents residents from accessing vegetables and fruits

Initiative asks what prevents residents from accessing vegetables and fruits

Together with partners at S2ay Rural Health Network, Foodlink and a steering committee of local experts, Common Ground Health is seeking to learn more about the access that different communities have to fruits and vegetables, and how these varying levels of access are connected to rates of diet-related illnesses.

Doctor's orders? More like, patient's preferences

Doctor's orders? More like, patient's preferences

Motivational interviewing puts patients in the driver's seat on behavior change. Common Ground has helped coach clinicians on using motivational interviewing as part of practice transformation.

“When you have kids, it's risky to buy new things”

“When you have kids, it's risky to buy new things”

A farmers market just for kids lets them try new vegetables without risking a family’s limited food budget. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier runs the Kids' Farmers Market program, which allows kids to "shop" for vegetables of their own choosing. 

Find a free blood pressure kiosk

Find a free blood pressure kiosk

Kiosks that provide accurate and fast blood pressure checks are located throughout Monroe and surrounding counties. This Google map shows the name and location of more than 100 free blood pressure kiosks.

Video: Evolving a culture of health

Video: Evolving a culture of health

Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health, shares how the High Blood Pressure Collaborative initiatives in doctors’ offices, churches and barbershops and salons have helped residents better manage their health and wellbeing.

Chartbook documents the heavy toll of poverty on health

Chartbook documents the heavy toll of poverty on health

Common Ground Health’s newly updated Health Equity Chartbook uses data analysis from multiple sources and more than 200 data graphs and maps to understand inequities—and to inform efforts to eliminate them.

Fresh herbs at your fingertips can mean less salt in your diet

Fresh herbs at your fingertips can mean less salt in your diet

A teacher of a nutrition class at an affordable living complex helps residents learn how to use fresh foods grown at a community garden at the facility to cut salt and improve their health.

Campaign aims to make streets safer for walkers and bikers

Campaign aims to make streets safer for walkers and bikers

Sixteen local groups, ranging from health organizations to government to cycling nonprofits, have banded together to launch a new community campaign aimed at reducing the number of crashes between motor vehicles and pedestrians and bicyclists. Called Drive 2B Better, the campaign asks drivers to slow down, scan and space their vehicles three feet from bicycles every time they’re behind the wheel.

"Affordability is always the focus": a conversation with Sue Segelman

"Affordability is always the focus": a conversation with Sue Segelman

Earlier this year we sat down with Sue Segelman, the nutrition outreach and education program coordinator at Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc., to talk about what she sees as our region's greatest challenges to ensuring access to fruits and vegetables for everyone. We also talked about the "programs of promise" that help make fruits and vegetables more widely available.

Neighborhood intersection gets an extreme makeover

Neighborhood intersection gets an extreme makeover

Parsells Avenue and Greeley Street were transformed Sept. 8 as part of the Complete Streets Makeover project, a creative way to test street enhancements that could make neighborhoods roads more welcoming for non-vehicular traffic.