Catherine's Light

Holistic grassroots healthcare for women and children in medically underserved communities.

In 2017, Catherine’s Light (CL) was developed to address the increasing number of moms in our community who are in need of help beyond the delivery room.  In the spirit of our foundress, Catherine McAuley, Mercy Ft. Smith developed a holistic approach to health care that connects new and expectant moms with the resources they need to better care for themselves and their families.  CL provides services in the areas of mental health evaluation, substance abuse, poverty, domestic violence, and lack of educational resources. 

According to the 2017-2018 Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, the community of Waldron in Scott County, AR showed that 38.2% of families exhibit antisocial behavior, 30.9% experience poor family management and 24.7% see parental attitudes favorable to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.  Due to the lack of regional healthcare resources in Waldron, we will seek to expand CL to meet the social, emotional, and health care needs of families in this rural community.  The program will seek to build trust and enable transparent conversations between patients and their providers to identify the underlying health conditions, contributing to these high risk behaviors.    

CL has received 247 referrals with 284 one hour counseling sessions and an estimated 300 phone calls for outreach and community resources.  By tailoring CL to meet the needs of rural, marginalized communities like Waldron, we will expand and enhance healthcare services and referrals with identified frontline healthcare workers to positively impact health outcomes.  

The use of virtual care in rural communities

Mercy Hospital, Clinic and Catherine’s Light will reach out to the rural community of Waldron, so many more women and children can be provided support, encouragement, and behavioral health treatment during this often overwhelming time of their lives.   We will continue to provide services and grow within the community as lives continue to be empowered and positively affected by this program.  

Due to the rural nature of Scott County, technology is an identified barrier for engaging in appropriate and timely healthcare access.  Over the next three to five years we will:

• Identify, train and provide needed resources to community leaders to function as a surrogate community health worker.
• Partner with the Arkansas College Osteopathic Medicine to develop biannual health screenings for the Waldron community.
• Partner with the Hometown Health Coalition to identify resources gaps/needs.
• Initiate virtual care technology for the Waldron community to receive education classes, primary care visits and behavioral health/substance abuse counseling.

Through the Hometown Health Coalition, Mercy Clinic and Hospital, the Department of Health, school based clinic, and the Boys & Girls Clubs.  

Catherine's Light, since July 2017 has received 247 referrals with 284 one hour counseling sessions and an estimated 300 phone calls for outreach and community resources

Waldron has a population of 3,618.  31.2% of the population lives below the poverty line.  The largest demographic is female age 35-44.  We will target this group by enhancing health services.  First year goal is to serve 25% of the targeted population, with year three increasing to 50%. 

A survey showed that 38.2% of families exhibit antisocial behavior, 30.9% experience poor family management and 24.7% see parental attitudes favorable to alcohol, tobacco and drugs.  The program seeks to build trust and enable transparent conversations between patients and providers to identify the underlying health conditions, contributing to these high risk behaviors.      

Existing healthcare organization with a presence in the Waldron community.  We have the infrastructure already in place for virtual care technology and have built community partnerships over the last six months. 

Existing, established not-for-profit healthcare organization.  

To access creative minds to help us enhance our work with the medically underserved.  By connecting Waldron with a global community.  

Technology is an identified barrier in Waldron, by engaging in SOLVE we hope to overcome that barrier.