June 28, 2005 DHH Invites Winn Parish Residents to Discuss Community Health Care Development

ALEXANDRIA, Jun 28, 2005 - On Wednesday, July 6, 2005, community leaders will join together to discuss primary and preventive health care in Winn Parish.  The meeting will be held at noon at the Louisiana Political Museum, located at 499 East Main St. in Winnfield, La.

As part of Gov. Blanco's Health Care Reform efforts, the Department of Health continues to pursue opportunities to ensure that all Louisiana citizens have access to quality health care services in their cities and towns. As a result, the LDH Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health has launched an exciting project that will benefit thousands of people in Central Louisiana.

The project, called Health Systems Development for Central Louisiana (HSD Cenla), is a partnership between the Bureau and The Rapides Foundation.  HSD Cenla is funded by a three-year grant from The Rapides Foundation.  This project aims to enhance and expand access to primary and preventive health care services in the nine-parish service area of The Rapides Foundation.

Winn Parish is one of the first parishes to participate in community planning activities to develop strategies to expand and strengthen primary care services.  A temporary advisory committee of concerned community leaders will identify primary and preventative care options.  Over the next six to 12 months, the HSD Cenla team will work with the appropriate parties to assist in implementation or expansion of strategies developed by the community advisory committee. This meeting will be the basis for the future progress toward better primary health care in Winn Parish.

For more information about the Winn Parish community meeting or HSD Cenla, contact Patricia Starling at (318) 308-3723 or pstarlin@dhh.la.gov.

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