The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently awarded Le Bonheur Community Outreach and the Hardeman County Health Center a $1.53 million grant over three years to provide health education and promotion programs in 20 counties in West Tennessee.

The Delta Grant Program began in 2001 and through Le Bonheur Network Services offers comprehensive health programs that focus on chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and the risk factors associated with these diseases.

"Our goal to provide health care consumers with skills of empowerment, problem solving, coping strategies and self-management," said Pam Burnett, manager of Outreach Network Services.

Counties in the Delta that receive services from the Delta Initiative include Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Henry, Henderson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Lake, McNairy, Obion, Tipton, Madison, Lauderdale and Weakley counties.

Le Bonheur Network Services with the partnerships of Hardeman County Health Center and UT Extension, provide six programs in West Tennessee through the Delta Initiative. 

These programs are: 

• Chronic Disease Case Management - provides individual intensive case management services to individual suffering from diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease , and those with who have high risk factors for stroke.  Through health education, nurse case managers help patients make behavioral and lifestyle changes so they can better manage their diseases.
• Pharmacy Assistance - works in partnership with the Chronic Disease Case Management program to help individuals who cannot afford their prescription medication. The goal of the program is designed to match individuals with pharmacy discount programs to increase compliance with prescription care.
• Dining With Diabetes - is a nutrition education program that works with individuals with diabetes and their caretakers. The goals of the program are to increase the knowledge of participants regarding diabetes and proper nutrition.  The curriculum is implemented in a four-week period with one two-hour class per week.  Topics include carbohydrate counting, food label reading, blood pressure and effect of blood sugar. 
• Tennessee Shapes Up - is a research-based health and fitness program designed by the University of Tennessee Extension Program to reduce the effect of obesity in our state.  The goals of the program are to increase physical activity of participants and improve (the state's health status through the reduction of weight, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose. The program runs eight weeks, providing two sessions per week.  The program format is adaptable and can fit to the community needs. 
• Lace Up For a Good Life - is a fitness program designed to increase physical activity through education and organized fitness opportunities.  The program consists of four walking components of "Walking Clue", "Poker Walk", "Walk Across Tennessee" and "Destination Destin.  Participants are grouped into teams of eight members with each program event lasting approximately five weeks.
• FYI:  Food and Youth Initiative - is a school-based nutrition education program designed for elementary age children that can be incorporated into the regular classroom curriculum.  The goal of the program is to increase awareness and knowledge of good nutrition and physical activity.  The program includes four components of physical activity, fruits and vegetables, portion sizes and fats and sweets that can be incorporated into the regular classroom curriculum. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grants are awarded to a single entity in each of the eight designated Delta States (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee) for the purpose of strengthening community organizations' ability to develop and implemented projects to address local health care needs. Grantees use the funds to support projects within each of the rural Delta counties.

Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center's efforts extend beyond the walls of the hospital. Le Bonheur Community Outreach addresses the social, economic and environmental factors that threaten health and well-being across West Tennessee. Each year more than 500,000 children and adults are touched by programs like Coordinated School Health, the Center for Children & Parents, Community HIV Network, Safe Kids Mid-South, Le Bonheur Early Intervention and Development and Therapy Outreach.  Click here for more information.