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Keya Program - Long Life for Good Health
| Topics |
American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians
Obesity
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| States served |
South Dakota
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| Description |
South Dakota Urban Indian Health, Inc., is a non-profit, Federally Qualified Health Center. Through the Keya (Lakota for Turtle) Program - Long Life for Good Health, the Keya Program Consortium seeks to reduce overweight and obesity to prevent diabetes and to improve the health status of those with diagnosed diabetes. The target population is rural Lakota American Indians living off reservations. When relocating to urban (non-reservation) areas, American Indians lose access to free health care provided by Indian Health Service and/or Tribal programs on the reservations. South Dakota Urban Indian Health has been providing health services continuously since early 1978. These clients are served at South Dakota Urban Indian Health clinics in Aberdeen and Pierre.
In addition to South Dakota Urban Indian Health, three other separately owned health care organizations have been working together for planning and implementing Keya Program activities. The other three consortium partners are non-profit health care organizations located in eastern South Dakota. They include: Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Avera St. Luke's Health Services, and the Avera Corporate Office. Additionally, 78 rural South Dakota Urban Indian Health clients participated in a needs assessment survey to help plan for the Keya Program.
This project aims to increase the quality and years of a healthy life and to eliminate health disparities among an estimated 873 rural South Dakota Urban Indian Health clients at risk of diabetes development or who have diagnosed diabetes. Several unmet health needs are noted: 1) Sioux American Indians are generally younger, less likely to graduate from high school, have lower incomes, and are poorer in comparison to other South Dakotans, American Indians and all persons in the United States; 2) South Dakota American Indians have the greatest infant mortality rate of any race or ethnic group in the United States; and 3) the South Dakota median age of death due to all causes is 80 years for whites, compared with 57 years for American Indians. The proposed project has planned rural health care outreach services that address social and belief differences of the target population. Linguistic barriers are not present since the target population speaks English.
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| Services offered |
The Keya Program will expand existing diabetes prevention and education services by fostering the development of new collaborative efforts for delivery of health care among rural American Indians in residing in Pierre, Fort Pierre, and Aberdeen, South Dakota. These towns have large American Indian populations: Pierre (9 percent); Fort Pierre (5 percent); and Aberdeen (3 percent).
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| Results |
Keya program goals to be met by April 2009 include the following:
Rural South Dakota Urban Indian Health clients will witness a 12 percent average improvement in five targeted risk factors (glucose levels, waist circumference, blood pressure, high density lipoprotein, and triglycerides); and
A framework for Keya Program sustainability for working with rural South Dakota Urban Indian Health clients will be developed. This will be accomplished through a variety of health promotion and education activities targeting exercise and diet, and through continued input from targeted clients.
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| Source |
Rural Health Outreach Grantee Directory, 2006
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| Contact person |
Donna Keeler
Executive Director
South Dakota Urban Indian Health, Inc.
1714 Abbey Road
Pierre, South Dakota 57501
Phone: (605) 224-8841
Fax: (605) 224-6852
E-Mail: donnak@sduih.org
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| Date added |
January 24, 2007 |
Summaries of success stories are provided by RAC for your convenience. Please contact the success story contact person directly for the most complete and current information.
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