A HEALTHIER MID SOUTH
A new resource to improve health status for
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi

The good health of Mid South citizens is a primary determinant in practically every other issue that they and the region must address. Without good health, how can one provide for their family, improve their economic situation, or learn to the best of their ability? We know that the low health status our region faces extends to issues of poverty, housing, education, transportation, recreation opportunities, and many, many other issues.

With the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Foundation for the Mid South has been exploring the feasibility of establishing a health initiatives fund that will serve low-resource communities and populations in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. FMS undertook a process to investigate both the challenges and the opportunities in the Mid South region that would determine the possible ways that a new funding source to address regional health issues could be most effectively carried out. This process included a regional meeting with over 100 participants from the region.

The regional working convening was held in Jackson, MS on January 9-10, 2006. Each participant received a resource report, which was the product of a partnership with the Resource Center for Rural and Community Health Improvement at the LSU School of Public Health, the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, the Mississippi Health Policy Center at the Mississippi State University, and the Southern Regional Health Consortium (SRHC) serving as the principal.

SRHC is a consortium of eight states -- including Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi -- that is committed to the improvement in health status. The report includes regional health status data and promising practices. >>> Download a copy of the resource report.

Click >>> here for a list of the Mid South Health Initiative's Advisory Committee.

For more information on the Mid South Health Initiative, please email >>> Necole S. Irvin, special projects officer.

Other health-related information:
>>> The Baxter International Foundation Health Recovery Fund
>>> Humana Foundation Katrina Relief Fund

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