The Greater Delta Alliance for Health will provide health education for health care providers in the Delta and prescription assistance for Delta residents through a three-year $1.38 million federal grant.
The alliance is a nonprofit hospital organization made up of eight Delta hospitals including: Ashley County Medical Center, Baptist Health-Stuttgart, Bradley County Medical Center, Chicot Memorial Medical Center, Delta Memorial Hospital, DeWitt Hospital and Nursing Home, Drew Memorial Hospital and McGehee Hospital.
Nineteen south Arkansas counties will benefit from the initiatives: Ashley, Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Cleveland, Chicot, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Monroe, Phillips, Ouachita, St. Francis and Union counties.
The grant is from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration through its Delta States Network Development Grant program.
The project will provide access to free chronic disease — such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity — education for health care providers in hospitals, community health centers and rural clinics. Specialists in chronic disease will provide continuing education. The discussions will be stored online for later access. The alliance and its partners will also host an annual Chronic Disease Summit. And the alliance hopes to expand the GDAH Delta Medicine Assistance Program, which helps people on fixed incomes or who lack insurance obtain prescription medications or comply with their chronic disease treatment regiment.