Grantee Spotlight

Delta States Rural Development Network Program  

The Georgia Health Policy Center to George Dixon, the project director for the Mississippi SHINE Project, about the impact the Delta program is having on regional health improvement and on community health workers statewide. 

To date, what has been the biggest accomplishment or win in your Delta program?  
I am very proud that we have been able to help 2,500 people with blood pressure machines and diabetic supplies over the last year. We are also proud of all the work that we have been able to do with the 5-2-1-0 healthy eating program in the schools. But probably the thing I am most proud of is, to have patients call me back and say that due to our help with blood pressure machines or diabetic supplies they were able to get their diabetes under control. I have had one patient say they are no longer having to take diabetic medication, because they now know how to control their diabetes. We have been able to help a lot of people to get control of their chronic diseases. 

What is a tip that you would share with an organization launching a similar program?  
If I had to impart wisdom to someone just receiving this grant for the first time, I would say be transparent. Be transparent with the people that you are bringing on to help you meet the objectives of the grant. We have been around since 2007, and we have had great success keeping our partners because we are very transparent. We include them in the decision-making process. We include them in every aspect of the grant writing process so that they know what it is that we are doing. I think people respond well to that. Similarly, we let our community health workers take the initiative. They know our area of focus, but I let them create their own version of programming for the areas that they cover. It allows them to be very creative with the project, to run things in a way that resonates with their community, and that has helped us to not have a lot of turnover. Some of the community health workers have been with us for 16 years, and they have grown with us. By being transparent and including them in the process, they are willing to work extremely hard to make sure that we meet our objectives. 

How do you see participation in FORHP’s Delta Program as impacting your broader health improvement efforts? 

We are based out of Jefferson County, which at one point was the most obese county in the state of Mississippi. Through all of the work that we have been able to do, we have been able to move down the list. We are no longer number one. I think we are three or four, and I know that may not sound like a lot, but that has been a tremendous change. People started wanting to change their health outcomes and we are showing them that they can get control and that they can make healthier choices even when it is difficult. The Delta grant has been that vehicle to educate people to take control of their health and their weight. We go out and provide people with an opportunity to see food demonstrations and these are people who may not have ever thought about trying these foods or may not have been able to afford fruits and vegetables. We are able to give it to them to try.  Delta has been instrumental in being able to change the outcomes in the communities that we are in. 

What’s next on the horizon for your grant-funded program? 

This grant has been a steppingstone to creating new narratives and new health initiatives in our communities. Because of what we have done, Mississippi now is going to have a certified community health worker program, and our community health workers are leading the new association. Delta has been instrumental in us being able to accomplish these things.  

This year was the first year that we focused on cardiovascular disease. Because of this initiative, we are now able to track people and that has been a huge win for us. We have a new data system where we can see our impact and show that we have changed things. We just wrote our cost estimation, and we can show that because of what we have been able to do in the last year, we have been able to save $9,000 per person. We know we were able to perform like 5,000 A1c tests and that 62% have made changes to reach an A1c of less than 8%. I think we will be able to grow that impact in the next grant cycle.