Applicant Name: The Health Enrichment Network Address: 713 E. 7th Avenue – Oakdale, LA 71463 Website : www.eatmovegrow.us Contact Person: Donna H. Newton, MS Contact Phone: 318-335-2112 Email : donna@eatmovegrow.us Requesting: Delta State Rural Development Network Grant HRSA-23-031 Service Area: Louisiana Service Region B The Health Enrichment Network (THEN), a rural Louisiana nonprofit organization that focuses on health education and care access, through its EatMoveGrow (EMG) obesity prevention model. The EatMoveGrow project aims to prevent childhood obesity in the 22 Delta parishes of Service Region B by providing evidence-based nutrition and physical activity interventions to over 26,000 elementary students in 50 high-need schools. Moreover, to complement its successful school-based intervention, EMG will incorporate four new community-level programs that offer clinical and social determinant assistance and evidence-based obesity prevention programs to all residents in the region. The Health Enrichment Network plans to collaborate with Louisiana Rural Health Association, Bunkie General Hospital, and Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center to broaden EMG's impact. The partnership will expand EMG's reach by 20% to serve 50 sites and connect rural beneficiaries to evidence-based obesity prevention programs provided by four state agencies. The initiative targets 22 rural Louisiana Service Region B parishes for sustained change. The EMG school component utilizes multiple evidence-based interventions to create the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community model in schools served. EMG Health Educators provide monthly classroom lessons to students in grades 1 to 3, with evaluation demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in health knowledge. EMG also collaborates with schools to identify and address health issues, providing frequent onsite visits and technical assistance to improve the school healt
h environment with improved nutrition and physical activity opportunities. The program aims to expand its reach by 20%, serving a total of 26,297 students in 50 elementary schools. To expand its efforts, EMG is adding community-level programs to address social and environmental factors impacting children throughout their day. EMG is partnering with state-level program partners to extend evidence-based programming efforts to SRB parishes, including the Pennington Biomedical Research Center's Greaux Healthy initiative and Louisiana State University AgCenter's Harvest of the Month and school garden resources. The Louisiana Rural Health Association will oversee a healthcare and education partnership connecting schools with a rural health clinic and a partnership with the LA Office of Public Health to increase utilization of their community health worker program. These community-level programs provide sustainable resources to address health gaps in the community that would not otherwise be addressed without EMG's advocacy and support. To evaluate EMG's impact, a longitudinal study will measure participant BMI, heart rate data, performance metrics, and nutrition literacy. The EMG framework offers evidence-based interventions for both schools and communities, making it replicable in other rural areas facing similar barriers, such as low-income, cultural considerations, and geographic isolation. THEN plans to share the successes, methodology, and evaluation data of the EMG project through various channels, including publications, conference presentations, HRSA's Rural Health Information HUB, and the EMG website, to support other rural communities in implementing evidence-based approaches to combat childhood obesity and improve community health.