Carolyn Belisle, managing director of community relations, and Guillaume Bagal, diversity & inclusion lead, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Imagine a Rhode Island where every person has the opportunity to be their healthiest, regardless of cultural background, health needs or socioeconomics. The Rhode Island Department of Health’s Minority Health Facts Report demonstrates that we are still far from that ideal. And so, during the month of April, we continue to raise awareness of the importance of health equity by recognizing National Minority Health Month.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health promotes the importance of health equity and the need to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations with National Minority Health Month. The theme for the 2019 observance is Active & Healthy, which emphasizes the health benefits of incorporating even small amounts of physical activity into our schedules. Physical activity promotes good health and reduces the risk of chronic diseases and other conditions that are more common or severe among racial and ethnic minority groups, including obesity.

According to the State of Obesity, Rhode Island has the 28^th highest obesity rate in the nation at 30%, with 33% of our obese population identifying as Latinx and 31% identifying as black. At Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI), we are committed to tackling this issue early on by teaching kids healthy habits— after all, healthy kids make healthy adults. This year, BCBSRI is not only celebrating our 80th anniversary, but also the 5th anniversary of our philanthropic focus on childhood obesity.

Supporting our focus is the most recent data released by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, which indicates that 35% of the pediatric population in Rhode Island is overweight or obese. When broken down by race and ethnicity it shows that Rhode Island Hispanic children have the highest rates of overweight and obesity at 45% followed by black children at 37% .

In the ongoing effort to combat the issue of childhood obesity and help young people establish healthy habits, BCBSRI has revamped its annual cornerstone grant program to address critical health issues in Rhode Island, BlueAngel Community Health Grants (BACHG). We shifted our focus toward awarding grants to community-based partners who promote the importance of good nutrition, physical activity and a healthy weight for children and their families, including organizations like The Boys & Girls Club of Providence, Children’s Friend and various YMCA/YWCAs across the state.

BCBSRI also launched a partnership five years ago with the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition and Playworks to develop #RecessRocksinRI, a program that promotes safe, fun and healthy play at school. This year, the program reached a milestone 80 schools in cities and towns across Rhode Island, 33 of which are Title 1 schools with a high concentration of low-income families. While the program encourages daily physical activity, it also has been shown to lead to increased student participation in academic activities, more cooperation among students during class and during recess, and students better leveraging conflict resolution strategies.

Additionally, members of Black Council @ Blue, one of BCBSRI’s six employee business resource groups (EBRGs), are diligently serving on the planning committee for the 14th Annual African Health Summit, hosted by the African Alliance of Rhode Island under the leadership of Julius Kolawole. Through similar community engagements, other BCBSRI employee groups like Latin@Link and Blue pRIde tackle health access barriers that disproportionately affect Rhode Islanders who identify as minorities.

As we reflect on National Minority Health Month, we continue to look for opportunities to help underserved Rhode Islanders feel heard, valued and appreciated while finding care for their health needs. BCBSRI supports the work of the HHS Office of Minority Health to eliminate health disparities among the racial and ethnic populations that make up our state.