The Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative's community initiatives create environments that promote heart healthy lifestyle choices and help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and related risk factors in the 18-county Delta region.
Mayor's Health Councils
The Mayor's Health Council is a partnership with Delta municipalities to establish coalitions governed by the Mayor's Office with the responsibility for creating healthy environments.
Through policy and environmental system changes which support increased access to physical activity, healthy foods and reduced exposure to tobacco smoke, the Mayor's Council works to reduce the prevalence of heart disease and stroke, and to engage key stakeholders to enact policies which support the reduction of risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Delta Alliance for Congregational Health
The Delta Alliance for Congregational Health (DACH) is a coalition of churches established by the MDHC that recognize the opportunity the church has to minister not only to one's spiritual health, but to their physical health as well.
The goal of DACH is to reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease by creating a system of churches that provide preventive screenings and counseling for diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, smoking cessation, and appropriate aspirin therapy. DACH coordinates the system of churches under one umbrella to conduct and evaluate evidence-based interventions within the framework of the ABCS (Aspirin, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, and Smoking Cessation) for heart disease and stroke prevention. DACH is governed by an Executive Board, and has bylaws and policies in place.
ABCS Screening Program
The ABCS (Aspirin, Blood pressure, Cholesterol, and Smoking cessation) community screening program seeks to identify participants with abnormal clinical values and to provide educational consultation as ways to reduce hypertension, heart disease and stroke. From the screening results, the program will develop and promote recommendations for policy (physical activity, nutrition and smoking) within the faith-base community and the environment which promote easy and accessible health behaviors. Approximately 200 people are screened monthly through the ABCS screening program.
B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. Hypertension Screening Training
To improve blood pressure screening in this area of the state where hypertension rates are highest, but access to care is low, the Delta Health Collaborative conducts the Barbers Reaching Out To Help Educate on Routine Screening (BROTHERS) program, which trains local barbers to administer blood pressure screenings to select clientele, thereby making this essential screening available in a routine community setting.
