Arkansas Cancer Coalition

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MINI GRANTS

Fiscal Year 2017 Awarded Grants

FY 2017 SPRING: March 6 – May 12, 2017

Arkansas Community Health Worker Association

Program: Community Health Worker Summit

Funding Amount: $2,405.00

Counties Served: All Counties

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 100

ACP Focus Area: Lung

Summary of Grant: The Arkansas Community Health Worker Association’s (ARCHWA) Summit is a two-day annual conference where community health workers (CHWs) and community health worker advocates participate in panel discussions , breakout sessions , training, networking and the exchange of ideas concerning ongoing and emerging issues in the CHW profession in Arkansas and nationally. This year’s summit will address the critical role that CHWs play in lung cancer control and prevention. ARCHWA will dedicate panel discussions, breakout sessions and other educational activities to raising awareness of health disparities in lung cancer and addressing promising CHW interventions.

Attendees will come away from the summit with I) new skills valuable to the programs and communities they serve and new knowledge, including around lung cancer treatment and prevention efforts; 2) a supportive network of CHWs and CHW advocates; 3) concrete strategies for advocating for the expansion and integration of CHWs in the health and social service fields in Arkansas; and 4) a greater understanding of relevant policy and sustainability issues related to the CHW profession. ARCHWA will utilize a post survey to capture participant satisfaction and knowledge gained through the summit activities.

Arkansas Witness Project

Program: Witnessing to Save Lives

Funding Amount: $2,249.90

Counties Served: Arkansas, Jefferson, Lonoke, St. Francis, and Woodruff

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 60

ACP Focus Area: Breast Cancer

Summary of Grant: The Witness Project® is a culturally competent, community-based, breast and cervical cancer education program through which cancer survivors and lay health advisors increase awareness, knowledge, screening, and early detection behaviors in the African-American population in an effort to reduce the mortality and morbidity from cancer. The Witness Programs are designed to provide educational, inspirational, and empowerment messages to community groups to educate and increase mammography screenings rate among African American and women never or rarely screened. Witness Project programs are presented in churches and community centers by volunteers (Witness Role Models and Lay Health Advisors). The target region includes the five (5) rural counties with limited access to medical care and low socioeconomic status populations. Also, there’s a high regional disparity concentration of African American and never or rarely screened women in these counties. Women living in rural areas require more education and navigation services. The Witness Project will host five (5) educational programs to provide breast health education and navigate women to age-appropriate breast health services including CBE, mammogram, or follow-up services.

Delta Survivors, Inc.

Program: Breast Cancer Support Group

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: Phillips

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 25

ACP Focus Area: Breast Cancer

Summary of Grant: Delta Survivor Inc. is a breast cancer support group in Phillips County. This group was formed to develop an arena for discussions of feelings about breast cancer and to increase personal empowerment. Additionally, this group seeks to provide education, enhance networking and resource identification while navigating women to age-appropriate breast health services including CBE, mammogram, or follow-up services. Delta Survivors, Inc. will host three survivorship skills with guest speakers. Furthermore, the group endeavors to create an atmosphere redirecting focus from self to others and creating an atmosphere of camaraderie.

Hope Cancer Resources

Program: Free Skin Cancer Screening Clinic in Northwest Arkansas

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: Benton, Carroll, Madison, and Washington

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 175

ACP Focus Area: Skin Cancer

Summary of Grant: Hope Cancer Resources will coordinate a free skin cancer screening clinic for the Northwest Arkansas communities. Area dermatologists will volunteer their professional services. The goal is to increase awareness and the prevention of skin cancer and provide access to care through a free skin cancer screening clinic. The free clinic will have dermatologists to perform spot checks on lesions and our certified health educators to provide education on behaviors that reduce the risk of skin cancer. In addition, this clinic increases the awareness of skin cancer, the dangers of exposure to UV rays and the recommended practices to reduce the risk of skin cancer. A certified health education specialist will navigate patients who request assistance for initial screening and diagnostic procedures to ensure they have access to the appropriate follow-up procedures and other resources as needed.

Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House

Program: Take A Stand Don’t Tan

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott, and Sebastian

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 5,000

ACP Focus Area: Skin

Summary of Grant: Excessive exposure to the sun and tanning bed use are among the major risk factors to melanoma. Just one blistering sunburn can double one’s chance of developing skin cancer. To encourage the prevention of skin cancer, The Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House (DWRCSH) developed the Sun SMART program to promote protective behaviors from sun and UV exposure for the prevention of skin cancer. To expand the Sun SMART program in 2017, DWRCSH developed Take A Stand, Don’t Tan program to be presented to area high school and college age students.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified tanning beds in it highest cancer risk category. Total doses of ultraviolet rays from a tanning bed may be as much as five times more dangerous than natural sunlight. To increase awareness and educate area youth, a short video will be produced outlining the long term effects of tanning. This will be produced by a volunteer Melanoma survivor and will include interviews with other young adult Melanoma survivors and local health care providers. This video will be shown at area high schools. Informational cards with information about the dangers of tanning and that no tan is “safe”. Area spray tanning salons will provide coupons and door prizes as alternatives to tanning beds.

Mississippi County, Arkansas Economic Opportunity Commission, Inc.

Program: Mississippi County, Arkansas Colorectal Education

Funding Amount: $975.00

Counties Served: Mississippi

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 500

ACP Focus Area: Colorectal Cancer

Summary of Grant: The Mississippi County, Arkansas Economic Opportunity Commission, Inc. (MCAEOC) is non-profit organization that has a history in leadership in community health and community development projects in Mississippi County, Arkansas. MCAEOC will provide educational programs and activities that will assists with increasing colon cancer screenings in Mississippi County. Three staff members will attend a colorectal cancer training in order to better help educate our community on colon cancer. MCAEOC will address the following issues in their community: (I) Co-lon cancer education and (2) coordinate screenings using the FIT test. By working with the Faith-based community, MCAEOC will be able to increase awareness and increase knowledge of ways to reduce colon cancer while promoting the FIT test. MCAEOC will measure success if 80% of the FIT tests are returned in the mail to UAMS.

St. Bernard’s Cancer Center

Program: Nutrition and Cancer Survivorship

Funding Amount: $650.00

Counties Served: Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, St. Francis, Sharp, White, and Woodruff

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 100

ACP Focus Area: Survivorship

Summary of Grant: The St. Bernard’s Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Cancer of Jonesboro, Arkansas continues to work to meet the needs of the many communities of Northeast Arkansas through evidenced-based medicine, and Christ-like healing to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer. With the allotted grant funding, the Registered Dietitian will work to provide written educational materials, community lectures, and other resources to reach not only cancer patients and survivors, but also caregivers, professionals, and other members of the community, in hopes of increasing patient quality of life, decreasing risk factors for disease recurrence, and promoting a culture that places cancer-fighting nutrition and lifestyle habits as a top priority. The St. Bernard’s Cancer Center Registered Dietitian will host a community-wide educational lecture to educate individuals on nutrition and its role in cancer survivorship. The St. Bernard’s Cancer Center Registered Dietitian will host a community-wide educational lecture to educate 30 individuals on nutrition and its role in cancer survivorship.

Hope Cancer Resources

Program: Patient Transportation Program

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: Benton, Carroll, Madison, and Washington

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 65

ACP Focus Area: Survivorship

Summary of Grant: Hope Cancer Resources will utilize ParaPlan, a transportation program software for dispatching and scheduling, to increase efficiency in route planning, costs and patient transportation time. Hope Cancer will transport 65 patients, document mileage, number of trips, and demographic information about each patient. For patients who have no means of transportation or the recommendation of the medical team is to not drive, Hope Cancer will provide a ride to all appointments related to their cancer diagnosis. The ParaPlan demand-response dispatching software increases efficiency so that we can better serve cancer patients in our growing region. With the integration of this software, we can transport patients more efficiently, and communicate with drivers about changes in medical appointments as well as traffic issues that may arise.

St. Bernard’s Medical Center

Program: Oncology Transportation Assistance

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, St. Francis, Sharp, White, Woodruff

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 50

ACP Focus Area: Surveillance and Evaluation

Summary of Grant: The Cancer Center at St. Bernard’s Medical Center, a nonprofit facility whose mission is “To Provide Christ Like Healing to the Community through Education, Treatment and Health Services”, as a Commission on Cancer accredited facility will provide transportation assistance to help alleviate barriers to treatment for low income patients. Of the 17 counties, eight are considered “RED” Counties according to the ADH 2016 report. Many of these Patients may drive 70 miles one way for treatment. This program would assist this population by providing gas cards, vouchers for JETS, NEAT, Taxi and potential payments to Patient transport services that are not covered under the patients insurance. St. Bernard’s Cancer Care will provide assistance to 50 (or more) Patients who meet the need for financial assistance with transportation to access care and treatment related to their cancer diagnosis. Factors used to determine this need include: household income, distance to travel, current treatment schedule and financial need for medical transportation assistance. The target audience will benefit from receiving appropriate and timely treatments for their cancer diagnosis.

Arkansas Public Health Association

Program: Building a Healthy Arkansas: Strategies to Improve Health in the Natural State

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: All Counties

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 250

ACP Focus Area: Oral Cancer

Summary of Grant: The 2017 Arkansas Public Health Association’s 69th annual meeting and expo will be held Wednesday, May 10 – Friday, May 12, 2017 at the Crowne Plaza in Little Rock, Arkansas. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Building a Healthy Arkansas: Strategies to Improve Health in the Natural State’. Many topics will be discussed during this exciting conference including oral cancer, tobacco cessation, ZIKA, disaster preparedness, health education barriers within the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community, obesity, the role of the community health worker, the importance of immunizations, and food-borne illness. APHA will provide more than 4-hours of learning that is focused on oral health, oral cancer, and the associated risk factors. The annual meeting will provide practical skills and comprehensive information to health professionals from across the state. Conference and Poster Presentation scholarships are made available to students who attend the APHA conference.

Rural Youth of Saline County

Program: Mayfest 2017

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: Garland, Perry, Pulaski, and Saline

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 200

ACP Focus Area: Oral Cancer

Summary of Grant: Mayfest is an annual activity that celebrates community life in Paron, AR. This year we are hosting several activities that will draw from the target population of our objective. Activities will include a pageant, youth chili cook-off, 3 on 3 basketball tournament among other activities. Rural Youth of Saline County (RYSC) will man an information booth as well as distribute items relevant to smokeless tobacco and oral cancer education in prize packs, participation bags and promotional items.. RYSC has a strong focus on youth and young adult activities.

UAMS

Program: Pilot Intervention to Increase use of the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline in Rural Arkansas

Funding Amount: $1,000.00

Counties Served: All Counties and specifically Phillips, Poinsett, Mississippi and Ouachita

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 50

ACP Focus Area: Lung Cancer

Summary of Grant: The prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults in Arkansas is estimated to be 27%, almost twice the prevalence in the adult US population overall. In an effort to achieve the ACP goal of reducing deaths from lung cancer in Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Health offers free help for Arkansans who want to quit smoking through the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline. Cosmetologists are well suited to promote the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline , especially in rural communities. They commonly talk with clients about health related topics and can encourage clients who smoke to sign up with the Quitline.

UAMS would like to expand the training of cosmetology students to include promotion of the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline. Specifically, use existing short videos from the CDC and other public access sources to create a short educational video which encourages cosmetology students and cosmetologists to talk with their clients who smoke or use electronic cigarettes to sign up for the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline. During this time, UAMS will schedule appointments with cosmetology schools within 4 targeted red counties where we already have partnerships with cosmetology schools. Lastly, we will add a quest ion on our follow-up questionnaire for our current educational intervention study for skin cancer, to ask cosmetology students across the state if they are willing to find out how they can help their clients stop smoking. UAMS will visit cosmetology schools in targeted red counties where we will: I) conduct a pre-video test, 2) show the video, and then 3) conduct the post-video test. During this time, we will also send a link for the video to cosmetology students across the state who responded that they want to help their clients quit smoking. UAMS will analyze data comparing post-video to the pre-video test, and will write the final report.

Specifically, UAMS will assess whether the video can increase the cosmetologists’ willingness to 1) talk with their clients about the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline , and 2) to encourage their clients who smoke to sign up for the Quitline.

FY 2017 FALL: October 3 – December 16, 2016

Hope Cancer Resources

Program: Shine a Light on Lung Cancer Vigil

Funding Amount: $1,450

Counties Served: Benton, Carroll, Madison, Washington

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 50

ACP Focus Area: Survivorship

Summary of Grant: November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. To raise the awareness, honor lung cancer survivors, and remember those we have lost to lung cancer, Hope Cancer Resources hosts a candlelight vigil as part of a national campaign. Cancer patients, caregivers and medical professionals are invited and there is no cost to attend. Vigils will be taking place across the country to empower those touched by lung cancer and reverse the stigma of the disease. We will feature a personal story from a survivor. We will also have a physician from our region to share information about the latest in research on treatment of lung cancer as well as screening and prevention,

Hope Cancer Resources will host a Shine a Light on Lung Cancer Vigil to honor lung cancer survivors and remember those we have lost to lung cancer as well as educate and raise awareness of this disease. In addition, Hope Cancer Resources will promote cessation services and make referrals to the Arkansas Quit Line information while providing educational materials at the event.

 

Hope Cancer Resources

Program: Transportation – Logistical Efficiency Support

Funding Amount: $897

Counties Served: Benton, Carroll, Madison, Washington

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 65

ACP Focus Area: Survivorship

Summary of Grant: Hope Cancer Resources will utilize VanGo, a medical transportation program software for dispatching and scheduling to increase efficiencies in route planning, costs and patient transportation time. Because of the rural nature of our population and the number of residents who live in poverty, providing free transportation allows patients to continue essential medical treatment. Many of those we serve live in very rural areas and have limited incomes. For example, in neighboring Madison County, 24% of the population lives below the federal poverty level (2013 US Census). By providing transportation, we can help improve healthcare outcomes for some of our Northwest Arkansas neighbors through access to care.

For patients who have no means of transportation or the recommendation of the medical team is to not drive, we provide a ride to all appointments related to their cancer diagnosis. In 2015, we provided 187 patients with transportation, traveling over 153,924 miles. The bi-lingual transportation scheduler communicates regularly with treatment facilities to ensure that patients do not miss appointments and are prompt in arrival for scheduled appointments. Effective, timely treatment allows for better medical outcomes.

Little Rock Chapter of The Links, Inc.

Program: Move Your Body Community Forum

Funding Amount: $1,400

Counties Served: Pulaski

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 500

ACP Focus Area: Cervical Cancer

Summary of Grant: Little Rock Chapter of The Links, Incorporated developed the “Move Your Body Community Forum” to address the fact that Arkansas has now has the highest obesity level in the nation. This program is the fourth in a series of community forums aimed at addressing this ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity.

Because parents have the ability to impact childhood eating behaviors and activity levels, the program focuses on family education and participation. The target group, 19 middle and elementary schools in the Little Rock School district with data demonstrating greater than 25 percent of the student body, is identified as obese. Obesity is defined as a BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 30. Twelve of the invited schools have more than 40% of their girls with a BMI over 40 and three schools have an average BMI over 50.

These community forums center on exercise and utilization of available exercise equipment not requiring a gym membership and demonstrates how to integrate available tools such as dance, bikes, basketballs, footballs, soccer balls and jump ropes into the family’s play and daily life. Attendance at our last forum was over 587 parents and students. The chapter will distribute at least 150 bikes and each family in attendance receives at least one exercise tool. Families and children are educated on healthy meal planning and portion control. The forum replicates the national “Let’s Move” agenda put forth by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Certified Kinesiologists perform exercise demonstrations and physician teams perform BMI screenings and individualized counseling. Open dialogue, using initiated questions designed to assess and increase knowledge related to obesity prevention, guides the education process.

L. V. Floyd Community Outreach Program

Program: Pink Carnation Educational Summit

Funding Amount: $2,225

Counties Served: Mississippi

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 500

ACP Focus Area: Breast Cancer

Summary of Grant: The L.V. Floyd Community Outreach Program is designed to provide a safe, healthy and supportive environment for Mississippi County residents. It also will provide educational programs and activities that will assists with social and emotional development. The administrators are experienced in dealing with cancer prevention programs. In the past the L.V. Floyd Community Outreach have partnered with the late Ms. Linda Wilson, founder of “Pink Carnation Sunday”, American Cancer Society, Mississippi County Health Unit, the Northwest Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute and 10 African American Churches. This year, partners include the Mississippi County Health Departments, Mississippi County Cancer Council, Mississippi County, Arkansas, Economic Opportunity Commission, Inc., Healthy Partners, UAMS, Arkansas Cancer Coalition and several African American Churches. We are a grass root organization serving a target population of which we are apart. L.V. Floyd Community Outreach Program will address the following issues in our communities: (1) access to early detection testing (2) access to information (3) cancer awareness education and (4) the coordination of screening efforts among local providers. There is a need in Mississippi County to help potential patients locate screening opportunities. By pulling local provider together, we will lay the ground work to identify local cancer screening needs. Another objective is to determine where and when screening should be offered, and if increased screening actually contributes to a demonstrated decrease in area cancer cases and/or deaths.

Omegas of Greater Little Rock

Program: Omega Prostate/Colon Cancer Awareness 5K Run/Walk, sponsored by Omegas of Greater LR/Pi Omicron Chapter, Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation, and American Cancer Society

Funding Amount: $2,500

Counties Served: Faulkner, Pulaski, Saline

Estimated Number of Individuals to be Served: 500

ACP Focus Area: Colorectal Cancer

Summary of Grant: The Omegas of Greater Little Rock Prostate/Colon Cancer Awareness Campaign and 5K Run/Walk is an awareness campaign and partnership with the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation and American Cancer Society. The Omegas will be trained as Community Health Advisors by the American Cancer Society to spread positive health messages among underserved communities and multiply the impact that the ACS can have in the fight against cancer. Advisors are trained to provide health education, outreach, and information to community members. They address prevention and screenings in an effort to encourage people to practice early detection of colon, breast, cervical, and prostate cancer while it is in the most treatable stages.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of at least 10 members of Omegas of Greater Little Rock will be trained by the American Cancer Society to become Community Health Advisors to educate 200 people in high-risk communities about the importance of colon and prostate cancer screenings. The Omegas will conduct speaking engagements to increase public education about prostate and colon cancer by conducting 10 presentations in Pulaski County for 100 people. The Omegas will also disseminate 200 pieces of information about colon and prostate cancer to 50 survivors of cancer. Target audiences will include underserved and impoverished communities in Pulaski County. To heighten awareness of the cancer prevention campaign of Omegas of Greater Little Rock will sponsor a 5K Run/Walk race at the Big Dam Bridge to promote physical activity, nutrition, and to educate women, men, and their families about colon and prostate cancer.

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