by DAVID HAMILTON

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Natchez is receiving a six-figure grant to help improve the health and well-being of Adams County residents.

As a continuation of funding from last year, the Humana Foundation has committed $105,000 to the city as part of an effort to prevent and reduce incidence of diabetes and heart disease.

The Humana Foundation is the “philanthropic arm” of Louisville for-profit health insurance company Humana Inc.

“We’d like to see the community understand its ability to impact health,” Humana Segment Vice President Pattie Dale Tye said.

“The first year of funding was $250,000 — now we’re adding another $105,000. We’d like to see the city and its residents then become self-sufficient and self-motivated.

“We just simply helped blow on some embers. There was interest, there was excitement, there was commitment, and now we hope there is a fire burning, and we don’t want to ever stop it.”

The funds have gone toward the Diabetes and Heart Disease Prevention Program (DHDPP) that began in 2016. Hosted at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and designed by the Centers for Disease Control, the yearlong program contains both education and physical fitness portions to help participants exercise more, improve their diets and stop smoking.

Once the DHDPP concluded its first full year, most participants had seen drastic improvement:

4 Half of the participants decreased their body weight by at least 7 percent

4 91 percent of participants achieved normal blood pressure

4 Half of the participants averaged at least 150 minutes of exercise per week.

“We have funded similar programs in other communities, but haven’t necessarily been quite as remarkably successful as the program in Natchez,” Humana Project Manager Remy Noble said.

In the midst of its second iteration, the program has more than 100 participants — more than double the program’s enrollment in year one.

Noble attributed the program’s success not only to enthusiasm of the program’s participants and coaches, but also the dedication to health and wellness by Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell.

Tye noted two new elements being added to the DHDPP. First, Tye said the foundation has begun partnering more with physicians to help increase involvement.

“We find that when a physician suggests or refers that you participate in a program, participation improves,” Tye said. “So there’s a partnership element this year in terms of referrals from physicians.”

The program has also implemented a new website —launched July 11 — to help participants track their progress. NatchezHealth.org charts participants’ body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and activity minutes over the course of the year.

The site, however, also benefits non-participants, containing health education articles and videos and a calendar of health-related events in the area.

DHDPP director Getty Israel said the funding received from the Humana Foundation is crucial to Adams County.

“The work we’ve been doing with the Humana Foundation and Humana Inc., getting these programs in place … none of that would be possible without those two foundations,” Israel said.

While she said the resources given to the city have been valuable, Israel believes continued contribution is “vital” from not only Humana, but other corporations.

“Imagine what we could accomplish if there were other organizations willing to partner with the Humana Foundation,” Israel said. “That’s really what we need, a collective partnership. That’s what we don’t have.”

Israel called this region of Mississippi “neglected” in terms of public health. Natchez Health.org states approximately 16 percent of Adams County residents are diabetic, which far surpasses the national and state averages of 9.3 and 11.9 percent, respectively, as shown by CDC data.

“I challenge other corporations who benefit from selling their products and services to residents of Adams and surrounding counties to follow in Humana’s footsteps; follow their leadership,” Israel said.

The Humana Foundation, Tye said, reevaluates funding opportunities on a yearly basis.