Project Healthy Grad

Alliance for Health, an aggregator of health planning, information, grants and process improvement for West Michigan; has contracted with the Muskegon Community Health Project (MCHP) to manage a two-year grant awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative will focus on the close link between health and wellness, and a students’ ability to learn, graduate and go on to post-secondary education.

The project links several partners and initiatives with the mutual goal of increasing high school graduation rates. Oakridge and Reeths-Puffer public schools will be pilot sites for school-based AmeriCorps Community Health Workers. The two selected candidates will start Monday, January 30, 2012 with extensive AmeriCorps inservice, followed by further training at Mercy Health Partners and MCHP.

In addition to the opportunity to increase access to care, the project partners with Muskegon Opportunity to increase the enrollment in the state-funded Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), “1 in 21” to market health initiatives; and with the Muskegon Intermediate School Districts (ISD) to work on policy change that will direct more Medicaid reimbursement dollars to the schools. The ISD will also work with area schools to implement a Coordinated School Health Plan.

West Michigan is one of only five recipient’s nation wide, to receive this two-year grant. This local collaborative effort has ambitious goals to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare to our community, while increasing graduation rates and supporting higher education. It is our objective to become a model for coordinated school healthcare in our state.

Lynda Balkema, Muskegon Community Health Project

Project Healthy Grad Coordinator

Muskegon Community Health Project is the Community Benefit office for Mercy Health Partners located at 565 W. Western Ave in downtown Muskegon for referrals or questions regarding our services please call 231-672-3201