West Virginia Office of Minority Health

The West Virginia Office of Minority Health isa program housed at the office level within the Office of Epidemiology and Health Promotion. The mission of the Office of Minority Health is toimprove and protect the health and well-being of racial and ethnic minorities through the development of programs, policies and practices to eliminate health disparities.

REACH WV Observes Minority Health Month

In an effort to eliminate health disparities and improve the health status of the Minority populations, Minority Health Communications, a healthcare communications company, and its partners, launched National Minority Health Month (NMHM) in April 2001.

Improving the health status of minorities has always been a serious concern for minority leaders. It was such a concern in 1914 that Booker T. Washington spearheaded the implementation of National Negro Health Week (NNHW). This initiative garnered support and encouragement from civic clubs, work places, businesses, hospitals, churches and minority health professionals. The week was launched in April 1915.

In 1921, the U.S. Surgeon General was asked by the oversight committee of NNHW to assist in expanding the capabilities of this effort. The Surgeon General complied and became a source of sustaining support, by publishing a nationally circulated Negro Health Week Bulletin that was designed to reach large audiences.The launching of National Minority Health Month in April 2001 is a rebirth of this important, well-organized effort to eliminate disparities across the country.

NMHM is in response to and in support of Healthy People 2010, a national health promotion and disease prevention initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon General.

The goals of NMHM are to build public/private partnerships, foster cultural competency among health care providers, and encourage health education and training. NMHM created a nationally recognized, annually recognized month, to serve as the impetus to raise awareness of and implement initiatives to reduce the problem of the minority health disparity throughout the subsequent days of the year.