A hospital has pledged $1 million over the next five years to a program to help reduce obesity and promote healthy eating in a troubled neighborhood.

Christ Hospital in Cincinnati is joining with the Center for Closing the Health Gap to work with children in the nearby Mount Auburn neighborhood.

The partnership also includes helping the center with health expo screenings and defibrillators to be donated to area churches.

Center president Dwight Tillery, a former Cincinnati mayor, says it’s important to reach children at an early age, especially when it comes to combating obesity.

The center, with a $1.5 million annual budget, has similar partnerships with most of the biggest hospitals in southwest Ohio.

source : Christ Hospital