Healthy Hearts NWA:

Lifestyle Rx to impact students and families

The Walmart Foundation and the American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all (AHA), recently announced the Healthy Hearts NWA – Lifestyle Rx initiative aimed at increasing access to healthy foods in under-resourced communities in Northwest Arkansas.

Healthy Hearts NWA – Lifestyle Rx, a nutrition prescription program, will be implemented by Saint Francis Community Clinic and three school-based clinics at Panther Health & Wellness Clinic in Siloam Springs, and Jones Elementary School and Parson Hills Elementary School in Springdale.

About 1 in 8 people in Northwest Arkansas live in a foodinsecure household where they’re often forced to make tough decisions between paying rent and feeding their families. They rely upon inexpensive processed and fast foods, which over time, can lead to heart disease, obesity and general poor health.

Healthcare providers at

Saint Francis

Community

Clinic’s locations in Washington and Benton counties will conduct nutrition screenings and provide resources customized to each person/ family’s needs.

Patients will get nutritional counseling and be given a paper prescription along with a voucher for locally sourced produce. The program is expected to give these individuals access to some fruits and vegetables they’ve never tried before.

In addition, the AHA is supplying booklets with hearthealthy recipes. A patient advocate will provide information on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and referrals to additional counseling, as needed. All information and assistance will be available in English, Spanish and Marshallese. Support for the initiative comes from a $250,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation.

“Healthy Hearts NWA furthers our work in the region to ensure access to nutritious food by improving the ability for individuals to find food when they need it,” said Rachel Spencer, senior manager community resilience, Walmart.org. “We look forward to learning from the impact this schoolbased initiative will have on our region.”

The AHA believes every person deserves the opportunity to live a full, healthy life, which includes having access to healthy foods.

“The AHA has progressively pursued health equity and social determinants of health as strategies for improving the cardiovascular and brain health of our most vulnerable populations,” said AHA-NWA Executive Director Serena Munns. “These neighbors often carry the greatest risk for heart disease yet face the largest barriers to getting the care they need.”

About Community Clinic: For over 20 years, Community Clinic has served Washington and Benton counties with quality and affordable health care. With 15 clinic sites, Community Clinic is the largest safety net health care provider in the region, and its extensive services include primary care, pediatrics, prenatal, behavioral health, dental, and physical therapy. Additional offerings include nutrition and diabetic education, RN and PharmD case management, patient advocacy, and insurance enrollment assistance. Community Clinic offers services in English, Spanish, and Marshallese, and accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and most other forms of insurance. A discount program is available to patients based on income and household size, and the clinic is dedicated to serving all in need of health care, regardless of their ability to pay.