Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
MCNDH Produce Prescription Pilot Program - The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN) is the fourth largest federally recognized Tribe in the United States with a total population of 99,031 tribal citizens – more than half of whom live within the tribal reservation. MCN tribal headquarters are centrally situated within the Nation’s jurisdiction in the city of Okmulgee. The service area consists of urban, rural, and very rural-remote areas. Population densities vary from small unincorporated communities, with fewer than fifty residents, to Tulsa, one of the largest urban areas within the State of Oklahoma. Spanning nearly 5,000 square miles, the MCN tribal reservation includes eleven (11) counties in east-central Oklahoma and maintains the boundaries established in 1900. The reservation is divided into eight (8) districts corresponding namely with the counties of Creek, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, and portions of Wagoner, Tulsa, Rogers, Hughes, Seminole, and Mayes. MCN provides vital services such as healthcare, housing, education assistance, social services, transportation, culture and language preservation, and other basic government functions and services. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Health (MCNDH) Diabetes Program has served as a liaison between the MCNDH's underserved communities and healthcare systems. The focus has been on interventions to prevent diabetes and reduce diabetes complications, including improving diet, increasing physical activity, and weight management. Interventions have included education about diabetes prevention and lifestyle changes, informal counseling, coaching, and extended support for people with a high risk for diabetes, and diabetes complications. Collaboration to increase access to healthy traditional foods, physical activity, and social support have shown the potential to advance health initiatives within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN) community. The need to establish a Produce Prescription Program is dire for the MCNDH. The MCN reservation’s rural areas are in a food desert where access to healthy fruits, vegetables, and affordable traditional foods is slim. In addition, most AI/ANs residing within rural areas are at least 20 miles from the closest grocery store . In turn, it creates a hardship for AI/AN individuals experiencing diabetes and other health challenges to be able to access healthy fruits, vegetables, and traditional foods to assist in maintaining their health or losing weight to obtain a better grasp on diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
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).