Missouri Highlands Grants Impact Southeast
and South Central Residents

Three grants to a single organization in six months is very unusual for MFH. But for thousands of uninsured and underserved people in southeast and south central Missouri, those grants created access to health care services not normally available. Located in Ellington, Missouri Highlands Health Care’s MFH grants in 2006 are tackling diabetes, dental care and health care access issues.

Because the organization could expand its services to the region’s diabetics, Leona Brunk, of Redford, and a diabetic for 15 years, is one of 1,200 patients who now receives self-management services at one of nine clinics Missouri Highlands operates in six rural counties. Stacey Keeney, RN, director of community health and education, and Kim Wilds, dietician, advise Brunk and other patients on the importance of a healthy diet and keeping their diabetes in check by exercising and performing regular self-tests. The $373,178 in funding for this expansion was made through the Foundation’s Better Self-Management of Diabetes priority area grant program. The core of this effort is helping people be active participants in managing their chronic diseases, such as diabetes, which then reduces future health problems and health care costs.

A second MFH grant funds $400,000 of a $487,968 dental sealant program that is targeting 1,500 students in 14 rural schools in southeast MIssouri, where dental care is in very short supply. Funded through the Foundation’s Smiles Across Greater Missouri priority area grant program, this effort is focusing on second- and sixth-graders, when the application of dental sealants can be most beneficial in preventing further tooth decay and subsequent gum and mouth diseases.

For thousands of residents near Poplar Bluff, the recently opened new health clinic, funded through the third MFH grant, improves access to medical care that previously was almost 20 miles away. This $896,333 grant is funding about three-quarters of the project’s $1.2 million cost, and comes through the Foundation’s Primary Care Access Initiative. Missouri Highlands expects to serve at least 2,500 clients in the first year alone, relieving the burden on area emergency rooms and providing a way for patients to receive medical treatment before their health conditions worsen.

The Missouri Highlands grants are a good example of how the three funding programs (Better Self Management of Diabetes, Primary Care Initiative and Smiles Across Greater Missouri) work in concert with one another to improve the overall health of Missourians. Rural communities face unique barriers and challenges providing quality health care services, including geographic isolation and struggling economies.

“In the past, people in our region only got medical care when it was critical,” said Sherilyn Clark, Missouri Highlands executive director. “MFH’s funding now enables us to help our residents not only have access to more services but also manage their health better on a daily basis.”

Missouri Highlands Health Care
110 South 2nd Street
Ellington, MO 63638
573.663.2313
www.mohigh.org