“There is a need for permanence and a coalition to address minority health disparities in Toledo and Lucas County…”- Schylar M. Meadows, Former Chairperson, Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Minority Health 

"You are Minority Health in Toledo and Lucas County. We are ALL minority health in Lucas County"

On behalf of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department's Office of Minority Health, we welcome you to our website.  

Who is minority health in Toledo and Lucas County?  This fundamental question was posed to the Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Minority Health by our program evaluators in the late Spring.  Over time, the answer was quite clear.  Minority Health isn't the coordinator assisting the area with moving the health disparties agenda forward.  Minority Health isn't the professionals who are already compounded by a number of commitments and meetings- on top of their existing work load.  Minority Health is the person who knows first hand about cancer, diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, immunizations/vaccines, infant mortality, mental health, youth health problems, and physical fitness and nutrition.  Minority health is YOU- the community.  The one whose brother died of a heart attack; the one whose grandmother suffers from breast cancer; the one who tests HIV positive; one who loses their child- a child born prematurely...

As we experience a transition unlike any other time in the history of minority health in our area,  The Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Minority Health welcomes the road ahead as an opportunity for continued growth, development, and opportunity.   Last summer, we were collaborating partners with a project that enlisted minority citizens as foot soldiers to educate the community about the H1N1 virus.  The results indicate that this style of community networking can be translated across a number of different disease states and health conditions.  It is our hope that we can imitate a similar strategy and expand our network of minority health advocates.  Doing so will increase community involvement, community buy-in, and the community taking ownership of minority health in Toledo and Lucas County.

Our transition includes new leadership, fresh ideas, and new partnerships that we hope will continue to address and eliminate health disparities among minorities in Toledo and Lucas County. 

On behalf of Dr. David Grossman, Health Commissioner of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department;  Larry J. Vasko, Deputy Health Commissioner; Dr. Barbara Gunning, Minority Health Program Project Director; Dr. Donna Woodson, President of the Board; and Angela C. Dawson,  Executive Director of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health; we welcome you to our website and hope it serves as a means to increase awareness, educate one another, and build lasting partnerships to improve the health and quality of life of minorities in Toledo and Lucas County.

Yours in health,

Ronata Bryant MPH, Minority Health Program Coordinator                               Marlon Barbour
Toledo-Lucas County Health Department Office of Minority Health                    Chairperson,
Liaison, Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Minority Health                          Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Minority Health

mailto:Info@minorityhealthtoledo.org