Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Project Title: Tougaloo College/Delta Health Partners Healthy Start Initiative Applicant Name: Tougaloo College/Delta Health Partners (TC/DHP) Address: 500 West County Line Road, Tougaloo, MS 39174-9700 Project Director: Arletha Howard, DrPH, MSN, RN Contact Phone: 662-326-3673 Contact Fax: 601-977-4490 Contact Email: ahoward@tougaloo.edu Mississippi (MS) is a medically under-served state, with 82 of its 82 counties designated health professional and primary care health professional shortage areas, respectively. These areas represent hundreds of thousands of medically under-served residents who are more likely to be impoverished, in poor health, and uninsured and have a higher incidence of chronic disease and mental illness. These shortages exacerbate the absence of access to appropriate, culturally competent, and equitable health care for rural, minority residents in these high-risk areas. African American females of reproductive age, specifically in MS, are disparately impacted by health professional shortages, representing more live births and, conversely, the lowest rate of prenatal care during the first trimester for the years 2019-2021. This population also represents the highest rates of inadequate prenatal care and low birth weight infants, the highest number of infant deaths, and an average infant mortality rate (IMR) of 12.1 for the same period. The average IMR for this period in MS is 8.15 (Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, 2021). The national IMR for the same period is 5.48 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). During this period, Mississippi ranked nationally among the bottom five states in women's and children's health. Effecting positive change in these areas is vital to improve perinatal, infant, and women's health outcomes. As such, the proposed target population of the project is African-American females of reproductive age. The TC/DHP is uniquely situated to provide continued case management and care coordination services to prenatal and inter-conception women, infants, children, and their fathers/male partners to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and reduce racial/ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse perinatal outcomes. The TC/DHP has served this larger population for 24 years in its seven-county rural MS Delta project area. The proposed project area is this seven-county rural project area comprising these medically under-served counties: Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tunica, Sunflower, and Washington. The TC/DHP project will focus on two areas: 1) Direct and Enabling Services for Healthy Start (HS) Participants • Increase receipt of case management/care coordination to facilitate access to medical care and community-based resources. • Increase uptake of healthy behaviors before, during, and after pregnancy. • Increase the use of healthy and safe infant and toddler care practices. 2). Community Consortium 1. Convene diverse, multi-sector state, local, and community-level partners, including HS participants and other community members. 2. Advise and inform strategies for providing direct and enabling services to healthy start participants. 3. Develop and implement a plan for each county in the target area that focuses on at least one social determinant of health (SDOH).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
