US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AWARDS AAHI

(Loma Linda, CA) V. Diane Woods, Dr.P.H. (Doctor of Public Health), has recently received nationwide recognition for her excellent work in the public health arena, particularly for directing the African American Health Initiative (AAHI) health planning project.
    Woods, Assistant Professor for Research at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, was recently honored with the national award from the Association of the Schools of Public Health (ASPH), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Council of Linkages (COL) Between Academia and Public Health Practice.
     This recognition comes to public health students who are engaged in scholarly research projects. Woods was selected as the recipient of the 2005 Student Award for Excellence in Public Health Practice as seen in how Blacks conducted the African American Health Initiative planning project. The victory for her AAHI project topped entries from prestigious institutions such as Yale, Harvard, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley and all of the entire 36 accredited schools of public health in the Nation.
    She notes, “Black people of African descent of San Bernardino County have a reason to be proud of the positive model they have set for the nation with AAHI. The nation is watching, and we have a model that works.”
    Additionally, Diane Woods was honored by Loma Linda University with the Hulda Crooks Scholarship for Distinction in Public Health and the Student Research Scholar Award. Also, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority honored her with their Social Action Trailblazer Award for the AAHI health planning project.
    In all, Woods received 14 awards and recognitions in the past several months. “Aside from the honors,” she says, “we are providing ‘cutting-edge’ science. We are making a difference in the lives of Black people, and we are working at real changes in the health system that will help to improve the health of thousands and decrease the healthcare disparity gap. To be recognized by the experts in the public health field gives credibility to the work we are doing, this is an extremely high honor.”
    The AAHI final report, Voices of the People: An Afrocentric Plan for Better Health, has received national praise for its in-depth look at the problems that face Black health in San Bernardino County.   A county where Blacks die 13 years younger than whites, Black men die at age 56 and Black women at 62.
One of the recommendations in the final report is for the creation of a new Black non-profit dedicated to solving the health problems Blacks face in San Bernardino County. This new organization, the African American Health Institute of San Bernardino County, is completing its non-profit approval process and has applied for over $3 million dollars in state, federal and private grants.
Loma Linda University, The California Endowment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and many others have all pledged their financial support.