State receives $1.9M health grant

Last week, West Virginia received a significant grant geared toward helping state residents eat better, smoke less, exercise more and take control of their blood pressure and cholesterol.

 West Virginia received a Community Transformation Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC announced last week.

 Still, the state didn't receive quite as much money as some health officials had hoped for.

 The grant would give the state about $1.9 million each year for five years.

 According to the CDC website, the grants are aimed at addressing tobacco-free living, active living and healthy eating. They also were aimed at evidence-based quality clinical services and other preventative services, specifically prevention and control of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

 Grantees may also address additional areas of disease prevention and health promotion, which include social and emotional wellness and healthy and safe physical environments, according to the CDC.

 Nationally, the CDC awarded $103 million in grants to 61 states and communities.

 The amount awarded to West Virginia is equal to about $1 per resident.

 The grant recipient, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, had hoped to receive $7 million.