Heart-Healthy Lenoir Project
What is the Heart-Healthy Lenoir Project?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the county, and the Heart-Healthy Lenoir
Project is a community-based research project designed to develop and test better ways to tackle the problem
from prevention to treatment. The end goal is to create long-term approaches to help Lenoir County reduce
heart disease risk and related health problems in the community.
What is involved with the project?
The project has two main parts In Part 1, we have been learning more about heart disease and stroke in the community – both the level of
the problem and current efforts to address it in Lenoir County. We have been talking with community
members, health care providers, community agency leaders, policy-makers, farmers, grocery store and
restaurant owners, and other community and business leaders. Based on what we have learned, we are
working with a Community Advisory Committee to design a heart disease prevention program that
addresses clinical care and lifestyle changes as well as policy and community level changes to promote
health.
During Part 2, we are using what we have been learning in Part 1 to develop programs to reduce heart
disease risk. The program includes:
Clinic system changes: We are working with doctors’ offices in the county to support patients with high
blood pressure.
Lifestyle changes: A community program to help people eat healthier and be more active has been
designed. This includes a weight loss program for those who are interested.
Community support: Assisting businesses and county leaders to make healthy choices easier. Examples
might include more places for walking or biking, community gardens, healthy menus in restaurants, and
farmers markets.
Genetic influences: Trying to understand how our genes and family history work together with our
environment to affect health. What can we learn from our genes to help prevent heart disease? Why do
some treatments and interventions work in some patients and not others?
Economic opportunity and health: Working with Lenoir County agencies to help create business
opportunities that can also help to improve health.
When did the project begin?
Part 1 of the project began in the summer of 2010, and Part 2 began in the fall of 2011. The overall project
is 5 years.
Revised February 2013
Who can participate?
The project is for the residents of Lenoir County. Men and women who are 18 years of age or older and who
live in the Lenoir County area are participating in the research studies. In total, about 650 people have
enrolled in the studies. The whole Lenoir County community should benefit from community-level and
policy changes that we are deciding about together.
How can I get involved?
Anyone is welcome to share ideas or ask questions about the project by calling the project director (contact
information below).
Who is sponsoring the project?
The project is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute which is part of the National Institutes
of Health (NIH). The project is coordinated through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, East
Carolina University, the Heart-Healthy Lenoir Community Advisory Committee, and the Lenoir County
Alliance for a Healthy Community.
Project Website:
www.hearthealthylenoir.com
Questions?
Please contact the project director,
Beverly Garcia, at
Beverly_Garcia@unc.edu or call
toll-free 1-866-273-1942.
Revised February 2013
Community Advisory
Committee Members
Tonya Cedars
Representative George
Graham
Dr. Greg Gridley
Constance Hengel
Joey Huff
Jenny Inabinet
Kelly Jarman
Wanda Jordan
Sonia Joyner
Tammy Kelly
Adrian King
Luther Ledford
Rosalind McDonald
Reverend Julian Pridgen
Jessica Seymour
Brenda Stewart
Laura Lee Sylvester
Tom Thutt
Rhonda Ward
Alexis B. Welch
Agency
Area Agency on Aging Eastern Carolina Council
NC House of Representatives
Gridley Behavioral HealthCare, P.A.
Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Lenoir County Health Department
Kinston/Lenoir County Parks & Recreation
Department
Lenoir County School System
The GATE of Lenoir County
Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Lenoir Cooperative Extension
Pride of Kinston
Retired member of First Citizen’s Bank
Lenoir Memorial Hospital
St. Augustus AME Zion Church
Common Ground of Eastern NC, Inc.
Community Representative
Kinston-Lenoir Chamber of Commerce
Medical Center Pharmacy
Lenoir County Health Department
Lenoir Community College