We've implemented the Delta Doctors program. The program allows foreign physicians who are trained in this country to work in medically underserved areas for three years. Many of these doctors will choose to stay in our region far longer once they develop a patient base. Let me stress that those in the Delta Doctors program do not take jobs away from U.S.-born physicians. Instead, they provide services in areas where otherwise there would be a shortage of physicians.

The Delta Regional Authority is one of the few government agencies allowed to recommend visa waivers to the State Department. Medical school graduates from other countries normally are required to return to their home countries for at least two years after completing their education. The J-1 visa waiver obtained under the Delta Doctors program allows them to stay in the United States if they spend at least three years in medically underserved areas. These physicians must provide primary care in their specialty fields for at least 40 hours a week. They also must provide care to the indigent, Medicaid recipients and Medicare recipients. The Delta Doctors program accepts waiver requests for medical specialists.

We've already assisted with the placement of more than 50 physicians in our region. This program allows us to meet the health-care needs of more Delta families than ever before as we bring doctors to underserved areas who otherwise wouldn't be there. We'll only recommend visa waivers within the 240 counties and parishes we serve. An employer must first make a good-faith effort for at least six months to recruit an American-born physician before requesting a waiver. We require evidence of these recruitment efforts. The foreign physician, in turn, must agree to provide primary medical care for not less than 40 hours per week in areas designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as shortage areas. All requests for visa waivers are subject to the periodic review by our staff for compliance. An employer's failure to comply in good faith with the policies of the Delta Doctors program is considered in the evaluation of other applications involving that employer. As you can see, we're going to great lengths to ensure we're placing the right doctors in the right places.

Those desiring more information on the Delta Doctors program may go to our website at www.dra.gov or contact R.L. Condra in our Washington office at (202) 434-4870.

Meanwhile, we continue to make progress with our Healthy Delta program in the area of diabetes awareness and prevention.  I was in Washington recently to formally unveil our Healthy Delta program for the media and congressional staffers. I can tell you that everyone with whom I visited was impressed by what we're trying to do at the Delta Regional Authority. The concept behind the Healthy Delta initiative is to use health as an economic engine. While we're known primarily as an economic development agency, our board determined that we will never be able to fully develop the economy of our region without a healthy workforce.
 
In its first stage, Healthy Delta will address the devastating effects of the diabetes epidemic in the 240 counties and parishes we serve. We have instituted an outreach and education program to encourage Delta residents who may have diabetes to see a health-care professional and manage the long-term effects of the disease. If someone cannot consistently go to work five days in a row because of illness, it affects worker productivity and ultimately the economic prosperity of our region. We know healthy economies are built with healthy workforces. The goal of this program is to get our workforce healthy.
 
We have television, print and web components of this education and outreach effort that are designed to drive people to our Healthy Delta call center. Callers can speak to a diabetes specialist, obtain a free diabetes risk test, be screened for Medicaid eligibility, receive help finding a doctor and get plugged into other diabetes education and management resources in their areas. We also are planning a minority outreach effort to bring the message about taking control of diabetes to hard-to-reach segments of the population.
 
We're especially excited about our partnership with the American Diabetes Association. Larry Smith, the national chairman of the association, joined me in Washington for our news conference at the National Press Club. Larry recognizes that more entities such as the Delta Regional Authority are needed to join the fight against diabetes, as it becomes a crisis nationwide. The total annual economic cost of diabetes is more than $130 billion nationwide, according to the American Diabetes Association. The direct costs are more than $90 billion, up from $44 billion in 1997. More than a tenth of all health-care dollars spent in this country are spent on diabetes and its complications. That's because diabetes alone represents 11 percent of U.S. health-care expenditures, while people with diabetes have medical expenditures that are 2.4 times higher than they would be if they did not have the disease. Cardiovascular disease is the most costly complication of diabetes. More than 175,000 cases of permanent disability are caused by diabetes each year at a cost of $7.5 billion.
 
Those needing help with their diabetes can call our toll-free number at 1-866-602-3300 or visit the Healthy Delta website at www.HealthyDelta.com . Those who call us will be contacted again at 30-, 60-, 90- and 120-day intervals to track progress and see if the caller visited a health-care provider or diabetes education center. Based on data collected by the call center, the DRA will build a database to demonstrate measurable outcomes in diabetes management in the region.
 
The Delta, of course, is one of the most culturally and historically rich areas of our country. This is a unique region that has a long tradition of cultural relevance in America. Unfortunately, it is also an area that has faced numerous economic and social challenges. Congress has charged the Delta Regional Authority with being a positive economic driver in the region. Since the hurricanes of last year, the world has seen the resiliency of people in this part of the country. One of the crises we now face is the health of our citizens. As the statistics I outlined above clearly show, diabetes is a problem across the country. But our region has experienced especially high rates of diabetes compared with other states. Of the 10 states with the worst diabetes rates, five of them are in our region -- Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas. We're truly ground zero for the diabetes epidemic. It is holding our workforce back from being productive.
 
The point I wanted to make in Washington is that diabetes is not just a public health issue. It's an economic issue. People who aren't healthy cannot go to work to produce the goods and services that drive the economy. They cannot support their families. Employees don't show up to work five days in a row on a consistent basis when they're dealing with severe cases of diabetes. Those with diabetes who do manage to show up at their jobs cannot operate heavy machinery, and they're less productive. That's why an economic development agency is focusing now on human development. We're building the Healthy Delta program at the Delta Regional Authority on the premise that healthy economies are the result of healthy workforces, not the other way around.