Preventive Health And Health Services Block Grant

Overview

The Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant (PHHS Block Grant) provides Rhode Island with flexible funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support. This funding gives states the ability to design and implement public health strategies that best meet their local priorities. The RI Department of Health uses these funds to fill critical gaps not covered by other federal or state programs, and to pilot innovative approaches to improving public health.

Purpose

The PHHS Block Grant helps RIDOH:

• Prevent chronic and infectious diseases
• Promote healthy lifestyles and environments
• Strengthen local public health infrastructure and increase capacity
• Improve access to preventive health services
• Address new or emerging public health concerns

Through this grant, RIDOH can respond quickly to changing health priorities, invest in programs that have a lasting impact on communities across the state, and sustain programming that Rhode Island residents depend on.

What We Do

The Department of Health works in partnership with the Rhode Island Prevention Block Grant Advisory Committee to set funding priorities each year and review applications for funding. Together, RIDOH leadership and the Advisory Committee use a data-informed approach to determine which proposed projects best meet the needs of the communities we serve. The RI Block Grant Coordinator works closely with recipients to support project implementation and evaluation.

PHHS Block Grant Projects in Rhode Island

Each year, RIDOH invests PHHS Block Grant funding in initiatives that improve the health and safety of Rhode Islanders. Recent examples include:

• The Moms Psychiatric Resource Program 

  • The need for pregnant and postpartum access to mental health support is urgent and growing. In RI, there is a lack of specialized mental health providers. As such, much of the burden for initial mental healthcare falls on frontline clinicians, who do not have extensive training and must navigate a complex system to connect patients to care. The RI Moms Psychiatric Resource Network (MomsPRN) program helps address this gap by empowering healthcare professionals, building competency, and increasing patient access to behavioral health care by offering clinicians same-day specialized clinical teleconsultations that include resource/referral support and ongoing professional education. MomsPRN is a collaboration between the RI Department of Health, Women & Infants Hospital of RI, and the Care Transformation Collaborative of RI. 

• The RI Streets Transformation Project

  • The RI Streets Transformation Project (RISTP) focuses on increasing Rhode Islanders’ access to physical activity and active transportation by supporting community efforts to enhance the built environment with short-term funding opportunities. Examples of some of the community projects supported by the RISTP include permanent improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along the Woonasquatucket River Greenway, enhanced signage for pedestrians navigating Trinity Square in Providence, a Traffic Garden in Newport, and a sustainable Community of Practice to educate and empower stakeholders working to advance community design and improve pedestrian infrastructure in their communities. 

Learn More

For more information about the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, visit the CDC PHHS Block Grant website.