The LSU AgCenter aims to improve rural health throughout the state with its new Healthy ABCs program, funded by a two-year, $1.25 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By the end of the second year, the AgCenter hopes to implement a sustainable program to reduce the rates of obesity and chronic illness in the parishes it targets.
The AgCenter, partnering with Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Southern University Ag Center and the State Department of Health and Hospitals, will become the eighth land grant university to target obesity in rural communities with CDC funding.
The AgCenter will start the program in Madison, Tensas and St. Helena Parishes.
“We are really hoping to make this a sustainable initiative,” said Denise Holston-West, the principal investigator for the grant and a registered dietitian with the AgCenter. “But for an initiative like this to be sustainable, it needs to be driven by the community.”
Holston-West said the first year of the effort will hold town hall meetings to pinpoint the challenges each community faces.
Then they will form coalitions with community members, such as government officials and retailers, to create an action plan that addresses those specific needs.
“We want to find out, ‘Are there safe places to play?’ or ‘Is there access to fruits and vegetables?’” Holston-West said. “You can’t expect someone to adopt a healthy lifestyle if they don’t have the vehicle to do so.”
The CDC awarded the grants to programs in states with counties or parishes with obesity rates of more than 40 percent.
Louisiana has 16 parishes qualifying, Holston-West said.
“We hope to create clusters [of parishes] that will support each other,” Holston-West said.
The “ABC” of Healthy ABCs stands for “Access, Behavior, Community” — the three biggest aspects of the program, Holston-West said. Each community will have individualized approaches and outcomes.
Some counties may focus on healthy eating, while others pinpoint education or physical activity initiatives.
Holston-West said the AgCenter hopes to use regional assets such as the Tensas River Paddling Trail in Madison and Tensas Parishes to establish community events.
With a combined population of approximately 27,000 people, the three rural parishes pose different challenges than urban areas like Baton Rouge do, Holston-West said.
East Baton Rouge Parish has a population of more than 445,000, according to the United States Census Bureau.
The grant money will fund three new employment positions for the program — a program manager based in Baton Rouge and extension agents in St. Helena Parish and northeastern Louisiana.
There are also volunteer opportunities for students who might want to make the trek to St. Helena, Holston-West said.