Supporting Our Community: Deepening Our Local Roots

As a healthcare leader in Northeast Ohio, Centers for Dialysis Care takes great pride in the continued support of local partnerships and education programs that help to cultivate a healthier, more engaged community.

Established in 1995, Cleveland Minority Organ & Tissue Transplant Education Program (Cleveland MOTTEP) is the only organization in Ohio that provides community-based, culturally specific transplant, health and prevention education exclusively to the minority community.

Linda Kimble, executive director of Cleveland MOTTEP, has served the organization since 2011. Kimble’s journey with Cleveland MOTTEP started years before when she interned for the organization in the late 90s while completing her Master’s in Community Health Education at Cleveland State University.

“At that time, my mother recently had a stroke, and one of the things I wanted to accomplish with my career was to improve the quality of life for citizens, especially minority citizens,” Linda shared.

“Although Cleveland MOTTEP is a small organization by the numbers, we are a mighty organization in our power and we make a difference in the communities we serve,” stated Linda.

Cleveland MOTTEP initiatives include a variety of health and wellness-focused education opportunities:

• Host a “How to Visit the Doctor” workshop
• Increase workplace awareness and education programs
• Implement prevention and screening programs for dialysis patients, their families, and friends
• Expand the Healthy Teens, Healthy Tomorrow Teen program to include younger children
• Sponsor or co-sponsor local educational and awareness events

One of the organization’s most successful programs is the Healthy Teen, Healthy Tomorrow Teen Summit. This program aims to empower teens, ages 14-18 with an education that will better equip them to make positive lifestyle choices. Since the program’s inception in 2008, it has served thousands of local high school students in the greater Cleveland area.

Cleveland MOTTEP’s most recent wellness-focused initiative to increase vaccination rates received funding to support a community engagement campaign. They have been able to successfully vaccinate 1,500+ individuals within the community as a result of the funding support.

Centers for Dialysis Care and Cleveland MOTTEP continually work together to improve the lives of patients, patient families, and all individuals in the surrounding area through community engagement.“

“Since its inception, Cleveland MOTTEP has been supported by the Centers for Dialysis Care Foundation in so many ways. I have seen firsthand how the CDC Foundation has supported the organization and its activities,” shared Kimble.

Cleveland MOTTEPs vision is simple; to be the trusted source of information concerning organ, eye, and tissue donation and a healthier lifestyle in the Greater Cleveland minority community. For more information, we encourage you to visit  ClevelandMOTTEP.org.