Health Education for Local Providers (HELP)

The purpose is to improve educational opportunities for health care providers serving patients in the Arkansas Delta; thus allowing rural providers to thrive in a system that practices evidenced-based, up to date chronic disease management and care.

Rural hospitals and clinics often find it difficult to send their healthcare professionals to educational conferences held remotely, which leaves the facility without staffing resources and the travel costs. Most rural hospitals and clinics are not equipped to provide in-house continuing education because of small staff numbers, small continuing education budgets, and the lack of education personnel. The HELP project provides free access to evidence-based chronic disease education for health care providers in hospitals, community health centers, and rural clinics throughout the nineteen county South Arkansas Delta utilizing current and innovative technologies. The continuing education is delivered via live teleconferences through interactive video, interactive modules, and enduring material through a learning management system. In the first year alone, 429 health care providers accessed the education, representing all nineteen counties in the project. Of those represented 76% were nurses, 16% other- allied health, 4% Paramedic/EMT, 3% Physicians, and 1% Pharmacists.     

By improving the Arkansas Delta Rural Healthcare infrastructure, this will promote communication among healthcare providers and improve access to care for residents of the nineteen county area. Improved health outcomes, reduced cost, and an enhanced patient experience are among the goals. One of the most important aspects to implementation is empowering the healthcare providers with the knowledge to help their patients understand their disease and communicate in a way that they understand.