A STEP AHEAD
MercyOne offers proactive programs , screenings to determine health needs
BY JENNA BLOUNT
While MercyOne Clinton Medical Center has undergone infinite changes throughout its 130- year history , and more changes are underway , these initial steps in both becoming well and maintaining wellness remain constants , as does MercyOne ’ s commitment to the health and wellness of the community .
Andrea Barnett has been MercyOne ’ s Community Health and Wellness coordinator for the past several years . In this position , it ’ s been her responsibility to address the greatest needs of the area as determined by Community Health Needs Assessments . The results have often fallen within the categories of health and wellness , and have then translated into the design and structure of programs and services offered over the years through MercyOne ’ s providers ,” said Julie Dunn , executive director of the MercyOne Clinton Foundation .
Barnett ’ s role is evolving to one in which she helps to recruit physicians and advanced practice providers , with whom she then directly works to build such programs and services . The health and wellness classes currently available will come under her review and the need of them , as well as the directions they will take in the future , will be decided .
The most popular of MercyOne ’ s health and wellness classes are the Complete Health Improvement Program and the Prevent T2 program . Both empower those in the community to be proactive in their health , beginning with measurements of basic health indicators , like blood pressure , triglycerides , HDL , LDL , or A1C , to find what the state of them could mean for health risks . During the classes , individuals learn the importance of lifestyle choices , such as those pertaining to diet , exercise , smoking cessation , stress control , and mindfulness .
Prevent T2 is a free program that ’ s been proven to be successful in the delay , or complete prevention , of type 2 diabetes in people considered to be at high risk of the disease . As part of the National Diabetes Prevention program led by the CDC , the program has a 12-month duration , during which time trained lifestyle coaches teach at weekly meetings
Andrea Barnett ,
Community Health and Wellness coordinator at
MercyOne Clinton .
for the first six months of the program about how to make lasting lifestyle changes in order to be more physically active , lose weight , and manage the stress that can hinder the disease ’ s prevention . An individual ’ s consequent healthy lifestyle changes are maintained with once- or twice-weekly meetings to offer guidance and support for the remainder of the program .
It ’ s possible to have pre-diabetes or to be at risk for type 2 diabetes if 45 or older in age , considered overweight , have a family history of the disease , are physically active only three times per week or less , were pre-diabetic while pregnant , or gave birth to a baby weighing greater than nine pounds . The last session began May 17 of this year , so a new session of the program is expected to begin after the same date in 2023 .
The other of the most popular health and wellness classes offered through MercyOne is the CHIP program . Broader in subject matter than Prevent T2 , this program acts as a lifestyle intervention for adults , designed to prevent and / or reverse chronic diseases . Covered under many health insurance plans and known to be very successful , over 55,000 people worldwide have utilized this program since it was developed in 1988 .
At MercyOne , a registered dietitian and certified wellness coach lead CHIP sessions lasting less than an hour but covering all aspects of an individual ’ s health , including nutrition , physical abilities , substance use habits , stress , and happiness . Typically a two- to three-month program with meetings twice each week , the health screening completed at the beginning of the program is repeated at its end to allow participants to see results in a relatively short amount of time .
26 Clinton Magazine Fall 2022