What if every school could pay for its own nurse and social worker through Medicaid reimbursements? Or if our city had its own bike-share system? Imagine our city’s landscape dotted with community gardens and outdoor fitness parks instead of vacant lots.
PitchNOLA: Living Well, sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will award $10,000 in total start-up funding for solutions that will get New Orleanians healthier, more active and better nourished. Pitch your solution in front of a panel of judges and 200+ audience members on April 24, 2014 and help make a difference.
- Application Deadline: March 27, 2014 (11:59pm CST)
- Competition Date: April 24, 2014
Although we are open to all viable solutions that promote health for underserved New Orleanians, we encourage financially sustainable ideas that tackle inefficiencies, opportunities and bottlenecks in six main areas:
- Nutritious, Affordable and Easy-to-Access Food: e.g. food supply chains, food deserts, summer feeding, etc.
- Diseases: e.g. diabetes, hypertension, STDs/HIV, obesity, etc.
- Physical Activity: e.g. recreation, active transportation, etc.
- Service Delivery Coordination: e.g. transportation, patient data tracking, mobile health apps, etc.
- Maternal Child Health: e.g. breastfeeding, C-section rates, low birth weight, child care centers,etc.
- Health Insurance Utilization and Access
THE CHALLENGE
When faced with the numbers, Louisiana’s health statistics are low across the board. The state is among the worst in the nation when it comes to obesity, infant mortality, HIV, and the number of uninsured. Overall, Louisiana is ranked 48th out of 50 states in terms of health, according to America’s Health Rankings.
For the launch of PitchNOLA: Living Well, we’re looking for small, concrete solutions that can make a big difference for underserved New Orleanians. We’re also looking for ideas with sustainable revenue streams, from utilizing health insurance reimbursements to selling a product or service. So, give us your best pitch. If you have an idea for making New Orleans a healthier place, we want to hear it!
Not interested in applying, but want to watch the finalists pitch their ideas? Reserve your seat at the competition here.