Collaborating to Improve Health Care in the Mississippi Delta

Project HOPE and Delta Health Alliance

Project HOPE, an international health education and humanitarian assistance organization, and Delta Health Alliance (DHA), an organization dedicated to improving the health of the men, women and children who make the Mississippi Delta their home, are collaborating to improve access to health education and care for residents of the Mississippi Delta region.

In a Memorandum of Understanding signed by John P. Howe, III, M.D., President and CEO of Project HOPE, and Karen Fox, Ph.D., President and CEO of DHA, the leaders pledged to explore opportunities to develop and implement health programs in the Delta and pursue financial resources to support these programs.

“There is a great need to continue improving access to health care for the residents of the Mississippi Delta, and I am confident that the combined experience of Project HOPE and the Delta Health Alliance will help build stronger, healthier communities in the future,” said Dr. Howe. “The partnership is yet another example of HOPE’s commitment to provide health opportunities for people everywhere, including here at home in the United States.”

The Mississippi Delta ranks as one of the poorest regions in the United States. Project HOPE and DHA will work together to seek funding for medicines, medical equipment and outreach programs to assist all of its residents, particularly those living in the remote areas of the Delta.

“The collaboration between Project HOPE and DHA supports our mission of changing access to care and improving quality of life in the Delta. Real and sustainable change can only occur when individuals and organizations come together with their expertise and resources,” stated Dr. Fox. “We’re seeing real change from the ground up, improvements that promise a brighter future for the entire region. With Project HOPE’s history of transforming areas like the Delta, we’re excited about the opportunity for ensuring change.”

Project HOPE has already obtained product donations to support DHA initiatives from corporate donors such as Stanbio, Lifesign, Quidel, BD, 3M, Bornfree, Lecat’s Ventriloscope, Lifescan, Newport Medical Instruments, Apria,Welch Allyn, STERIS, Hu-Friedy and Faichney Medical Company.

Project HOPE’s commitment to better health care in Mississippi is not new. The organization was actively involved in humanitarian relief efforts in Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which claimed more than 1,800 lives. Project HOPE provided medical volunteers, donated medicines and supplies. Project HOPE also helped create the Moss Point Clinic, the first new facility of its kind to open after Katrina’s devastation. The Moss Point clinic is now a permanent medical facility serving more than 3,200 patients each year.

About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems, with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now conducts land-based medical training and health education programs in more than 35 countries across five continents.

About Delta Health Alliance
Delta Health Alliance is a 501c3 non-profit, four-year-old organization that is changing health care in the Mississippi Delta by improving access to health care and providing education for healthier lifestyles. DHA accomplishes this mission in four ways: First, DHA links the three major universities (Delta State University, Mississippi State University, and Mississippi Valley State University) that serve the Delta with the University of Mississippi Medical Center and with the Delta Council, the region’s economic development organization. Second, the latest findings from the fields of science, medicine, and public health are used to create DHA’s programs. Third, every one of these initiatives is assessed regularly on the basis of objective statistical data that is produced and recorded as part of the projects. Fourth, DHA does our work through community partners, recognizing that long-lasting change only occurs from the bottom up.