Through “Advancing Equitable Obesity Care through Regional Action Grants,” ACP aims to inspire local collaboration models across the country to train and empower medical professionals to partner with patients to combat misinformation and heighten clinical capacity to manage care for people with obesity.
ACP recognizes obesity in the US as a dual public health and health equity crisis, reflecting the complexities of this chronic condition. This grant program capitalizes on local internal medicine physicians' relationships and partnerships with a variety of delivery systems and community partnerships, to broaden educational reach to both physicians (and physician trainees) and their patient populations.
Grantee projects were selected based on feasibility and potential impact, and description of the approach that will be used to evaluate impact. The following grantees have been awarded for their projects:
Jennifer Meyfeldt, M.D., ACP Arizona Chapter, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix Internal Medicine Residency, Project name: Beyond the Scale: Empowering Resident Physicians in Comprehensive Obesity Care.
Julie A. Venci, M.D, ACP Colorado Chapter, Denver Health, Project name: A Community-Based Approach to Combating Obesity Stigma and Misinformation Amongst Interprofessional Healthcare Teams and Patients Experiencing Food Insecurity in Southwest Denver.
Bisi Alli, DO, MS, dipABLM, FACP, FAMWA, LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt, ACP Arizona Chapter, WellNEST Medicine, LLC, Project name: Transforming Obesity Care in Arizona through Food as Medicine.
Gerald A. Cox, II, M.D., MPH DABOM, DABLM, ACP Southern California Chapter, Region II, Mirror Health & Wellness LLC, Project name: Transforming Obesity Care: Bridging Communities with Education and Innovation.
Alicia D. Shelly, M.D. FACP DABOM, ACP Georgia Chapter, Healthy Living for Life LLC, Project name: Escape the Stigma: A Virtual Journey Through Obesity Medicine.
Meenal Shukla, M.D., ACP New York Chapter, Janice Prime Care Medical PC, Project name: 365 Days Obesity Challenge of Brooklyn.
Carla Margarita Martín, M.D., FACP, FAAP, DipABOM, DipACLM, ACP Rhode Island Chapter, Project name: Bilingual Family-Centric Educational Videos and Materials on Obesity.
Tammy Lin, M.D., MPH, FACP and Vineet Gupta, M.D., SFHM, FACP (University of California, San Diego School of Medicine), ACP California Southern Region 3 Chapter, Hosting an Inclusive Table: Expert Slices, Quick Bites, and Comfortable Spaces.
Catherine Tridico Hudson, M.D., ACP Louisiana Chapter, Project name: Scoring System for the Equitable Allocation of GLP1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with Obesity.
Judith A. Melin, M.A., M.D., FACP, ACP Massachusetts Chapter, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Project name: Addressing Obesity: Successful Implementation.
Cardio/Kidney/Metabolic-focused Projects
Arvind Kumar Venkataramana Raju M.D., George M Abraham M.D., MPH, MACP, FIDSA, FRCP(Lon.), ACP Massachusetts Chapter, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA, Project name: From Awareness to Action: A Pilot Initiative for Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome in Vulnerable Communities.
Dawn E DeWitt M.D., MSc, CMedEd, MACP, FRACP, FRCP-London, ACP Washington Chapter, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University (WSU), Project name: From Knowledge to Application: Interprofessional Obesity Education Simulation.
Molly B. Southworth, M.D., MPH, MACP, ACP Alaska Chapter, Project name: Advancing Obesity Care for Alaskans: A Multi-Stakeholder Initiative.
For more information, read the full press release announcing this initiative.
The ACP Advancing Equitable Obesity Care through Regional Action Grants program is made possible by grant support from:
Learn more about ACP's other initiatives to reduce the impact of obesity on US populations.