 The Delta States Stroke Consortium (DSSC), a five-state collaborative effort coordinated by the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is funded by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The DSSC brings together academic, government, business, and community leaders to identify and address factors associated with the high rate of strokes in the southeast. States represented by the consortium are Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee - five of eight southeastern states comprising the "stroke belt," where the stroke death rate is 1.5 times the national average. Members of the consortium have met over the past year and a half to review the existing information related to stroke in the various states comprising the consortium, and to identify the most pressing issues to be addressed. The meeting provided a forum for discussion about the most relevant issues, as well as a solid foundation for the action plans to positively impact the high incidence of strokes and its associated morbidity and mortality. Information from these meetings is currently being compiled into a final document that soon will be shared with the ADPH and the CDC. The DSSC is divided into five working groups, each include representatives from all five states: (1) Risk Factor Prevention and Control; (2) Identification of the Signs and Symptoms of Stroke; (3) Transportation, Emergency Medical Services Care and Acute Care; (4) Rehabilitation Management; (5) Secondary Stroke Prevention. The groups have mapped out strategies for accomplishing their objectives. The School of Public Health's primary role as the coordinating institution is to facilitate and support the consortium in achieving its mission. |
