Kansas Department of Health and Environment
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Community Health Promotion program announced the recipients of this year’s Chronic Disease Risk Reduction (CDRR) Community grant. In total, the State Fiscal Year 2026 CDRR program covers: 15 grantees, 25 counties and 1,972,817 Kansans (65.5 percent of the total Kansas population).
The CDRR Community Grant Program provides funding, training and technical assistance to communities to address chronic disease risk reduction through evidence-based strategies that impact tobacco use, physical activity and nutrition.
Strategies include reducing secondhand smoke exposure, preventing youth from using tobacco, promoting tobacco treatment and the Kansas Tobacco Quitline, increasing physical activity, and improving community nutrition.
“This program helps grantees show the power of local partnerships in creating long-term health improvements,” Mende Barnett, KDHE section director for Community Health Promotion, said. “We’re excited to continue this work together to reduce chronic disease and strengthen communities.
The 2026 CDRR Grantees and the counties they cover include:
• Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation (Mitchell, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Ottawa, Republic and Smith counties)