PART FOUR: Education crucial to reverse health trends in rural areas

“Historically, adults and children who live in those rural settings have higher rates of nutrition-related chronic diseases, poorer diet quality and lower physical activity levels compared with urban residents.

A diabetic prevention program now offered through Arbor Family Health geared not only to reverse the trend, but also put residents of Pointe Coupee and surrounding areas on a path toward a healthier lifestyle.

“We have a lot of people on the edge of becoming full-blown diabetics,” Arbor CEO Cindy Peavy said.”

The struggles low-income residents face in rural areas extend far beyond dollars and cents.

In the case of the lifestyle and the food many of them eat, it often leads to a life of poor health.

It’s a common issue seen by physicians with Arbor Family Health and other federally qualified health center (FQHC) providers.

The struggles to remain healthy in a life of poverty stand out in Louisiana.

Louisiana was named the least-healthiest state in the country in 2020, according to the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Ranking.

Louisiana’s prevalence of obesity ranks it’s the fourth most obese state in the country. In the past five years, it has ranked in the top 5 percent of obese states.

Of that total, 45.9 percent of black adults and 32.9 of white adults are considered obese. It is primarily concentrated in the rural area.

In other core health indicators, mortality/heart disease in Pointe Coupee as of 2020 was tallied at 326.88 per 100,000 and cancer 227.09 per 100,000.

Historically, adults and children who live in those rural settings have higher rates of nutrition-related chronic diseases, poorer diet quality and lower physical activity levels compared with urban residents.

A diabetic prevention program now offered through Arbor Family Health geared not only to reverse the trend, but also put residents of Pointe Coupee and surrounding areas on a path toward a healthier lifestyle.

“We have a lot of people on the edge of becoming full-blown diabetics,” Arbor CEO Cindy Peavy said. 

Diabetes is the most expensive condition in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

The total annual cost of diabetes is $327 billion.

One dollar of ever $4 is spent on healthcare costs caring for people with diabetes.

The total economic cost of diabetes rose 60 percent from 2007 to 2017.

Arbor’s program gears to educate about the many adverse health conditions that stem from diabetes.

The program includes classes in which those who enroll in the program learn more about diabetes.

 It also provides access for a physician to monitor them weekly to get them on the right lifestyle.

The age-adjusted diabetes prevalence is 17 percent, but the prevalence of adult obesity is 35 percent in Pointe Coupee Parish.

 By comparison, Iberville’s total is 35 percent, West Baton Rouge is 34 percent and the national prevalence in adults is 40 percent.

Pointe Coupee, Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes have a child obesity prevalence of 16.5 percent – 1 percent higher than the national sum.

The help with diabetics goes beyond prevention.

“We’re not just handing the pre-diabetics – we’re also working with the full-blown diabetics,” Peavy said. “We’re making we take a holistic approach to everything that needs to happen with them.”

The focus on that population also includes in-clinic diabetic retinal scans to medication management.

It also involves one-on-one diabetic education with dietitians.

“We have so many programs for this within the facility, and it’s all set on the patient,” Arbor Board President Jeanine Thibodeaux said.

Much of the move toward preventative care involves availability and the objective to offer more healthcare services to the underserved.

The medical mobile unit has helped in patient outreach for those residents in the rural areas.

The target population is persons with income 200 percent or below the Federal Poverty Level living in the service area, with emphasis to those experiencing disparities in access due to socio-economic, cultural or health insurance status.

Perhaps a bigger challenge involves promotion of healthier eating in a region of the United States to move toward healthier habits.

“A lot of it is just from the food we love here … that’s what we’re known for in Louisiana,” Thibodeaux said. “We’re not California.”

Rice developed through LSU Ag Center has a higher protein and lower carcinogenic index.

“Things are going to change, but changing the way we eat isn’t easy,” Thibodeaux said. “It’s happening slowly.

“Before, there wasn’t so much of the data, but we have it here.”

Next week: A look at the relationship between Arbor and Pointe Coupee General, along with how a $10,000 purchase put plans in motion to improve healthcare and its availability in Pointe Coupee and surrounding parishes.