St. John’s Diabetes program receives $25,000 grant
32-week weight loss and exercise program for diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention
by St. John’s Lutheran Hospital
January 3, 2011
The Montana Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program has awarded the St. John’s Lutheran Hospital Diabetes Prevention Team a $25,000 grant to aid in the establishment of a Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program for South Lincoln County. Becky Brundin, RD, MPH, CDE, applied for the grant and has established a team to work with community members to improve their health through a new program called PREVENT.
PREVENT is a weight loss and exercise program designed to assist and motivate individuals to reach and maintain a healthy lifestyle through group activities, educational sessions, and individual guidance from their life coaches. This national instructive program is based on research and provides participants with many tools to help reach their goals. The lasting success has already been shown in many communities across Montana.
According to Matt Larsen, RD, the newest member of the Diabetes and Nutrition Team at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital and a PREVENT Team Leader and Life Coach, the Program targets individuals who are ready to make lifestyle changes. "We are looking for men and women who are at the point in their lives when they are ready to make healthier changes for a better and brighter future. They need to be ready to eat healthier, embrace exercising regularly, and most importantly, they must be ready to commit to healthy lifestyle changes," said Larsen. "We will be offering incentives that will make activities fun and motivating. Criteria for the group include people who have one or more of the following conditions: they are over weight, have high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol, are pre-diabetic, or may have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy."
About one in four adults (57 million Americans) have pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is defined as a fasting blood glucose reading of 100 to 125 mg/dl. Approximately 11% of those 57 million Americans will develop diabetes within three years, and more than half will have the disease within a decade.
Brundin is excited about the new PREVENT program at St. John’s because diabetes is the fastest growing disease in the United States. "Diabetes is growing rapidly, and to complicate matters further, the disease goes undetected a good percentage of the time," stated Brundin. "Only a very small percentage of Americans with pre-diabetes realize they have it. Unfortunately, people do not take the necessary steps to reduce their risk of full-blown diabetes and its numerous complications. Many studies have shown that eating a healthy diet, losing weight, and exercising regularly may reverse pre-diabetes and delay and/or prevent diabetes altogether. That’s why we encourage people to consult their doctors to get their blood glucose checked regularly; just like you would your cholesterol."
PREVENT is a 32-week diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention program. The tuition fee is 100% refundable. The first 16 weeks is the Core Program. Participants attend weekly classes led by Registered Dietitians to create new, healthier behaviors. Patients will track and self monitor food intake and physical activity.
After completion of the Core Program, The second cycle of 16 weeks offers more maintenance and relapse support. The participants will be in regular contact with a RD/Lifestyle Coach to discuss problem solving, goal setting, barrier identification, and progress review. Tuition reimbursement will be based on the successful completion of program components.
"Meeting in a group increases the support and helps keep people motivated for long term success," added Larsen. "The PREVENT program is an opportunity for many people to get on the road to better health. With the New Year upon us, now would be the perfect time to set goals to change your life for the better."
Screening participants for the PREVENT Program starts in January. The PREVENT program is scheduled to begin in February. For more information about the PREVENT program, call Becky Brundin at 406-293-0175 or Matt Larsen at 406-293-0124, or consult your physician.
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