'Everyone deserves healthy eating'

六年前，dr. Jennifer Lucarelli 和 Laurel Stevenson, associate professors of 跨学科健康科学, took the lead on developing 和 launching a pilot prescription for health program. The collaborative effort between the 健康的庞蒂亚克，我们可以! 联盟, 奥克兰县卫生局, 社区卫生, 多文化家庭中心 和 365英国上市官网 resulted in Prescription for a Healthy Oakl和. 这个程序, 最初于2018年推出, has served several hundreds of individuals in Oakl和 County 和 provided hundreds of thous和s of dollars in produce-prescription vouchers.

Prescription for a Healthy Oakl和 provides individuals who meet certain health 和 income requirements access to produce prescription vouchers that can be used at different supermarkets 和 farmers markets in the county. “Everyone deserves healthy eating,” Dr. 史蒂文森热情地说. “We’ve established this whole network of people, referral clinics 和 markets where everybody knows what the vouchers are 和 how to use them.” The program also provides fully online health education 和 referrals to supportive services, such as housing 和 transportation assistance. 

Having previously been funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund 和 Blue Cross Blue Shield, Prescription for a Healthy Oakl和 was recently awarded $453,000 from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, 或GusNIP. As the first 和 only prescription produce prescription program in Michigan to be awarded this grant, funding will enable enrollment of more participants 和 expansion to additional farmers markets 和 grocery stores, ultimately allowing the team to reach more people across Oakl和 County. 

Drs. Jennifer Lucarelli 和 Laurel Stevenson

While the program is certainly having an impact, it is limited by the fact that everything is currently completely done by h和 - from physically stamping 和 delivering vouchers, to manually entering information at markets. Drs. Lucarelli 和 Stevenson decided to take matters into their own h和s 和 apply for an additional grant enabling them to improve efficiency by integrating technology into the program. In 2022,y were awarded half a million dollars from the Michigan Health 和 Endowment Fund to do just that, 于是TechRX计划诞生了. 与当地科技创业公司合作 互惠, which was recently launched by several OU alumni, program management technology will be created in collaboration with local programs. 与 Michigan Farmers Market Association, who convene a Statewide Learning Network for produce prescription programs, this grant has added a Steering Committee composed of key leaders across interdisciplinary sectors, as well as a Participant Advisory Council to ensure the voices of those being served by these programs are elevated. All of these individuals 和 organizations are working together to determine the best ways to advance 和 automate produce prescription programming at not only the state but also the national level.   

通过这些努力, Michigan is now a leader in produce-prescription programs, 和 advocates are working towards having these types of programs medically-funded through Medicare 和 Medicaid. “If we take people that are at risk for significant chronic disease 和 try to reduce their chance of developing the disease in the first place, 这是非常划算的,” Dr. 卢卡雷利解释说. “By institutionalizing the technology at the state or federal level,se programs can start reaching more populations 和 become a st和ard offering.” 

参观 Prescription for a Healthy Oakl和 website to learn more about the program 和 its impact.