Dr. Stephen Wilson of Mercy Health — Forest Park Internal Medicine and Pediatrics in Fairfield, Ohio has long served his community with his practice-based Forest Park Diabetes Management program. This Medical Fitness Association (MFA) award-winning program takes a comprehensive approach to diabetes care management, serving pre-diabetic, type 1, and type 2 patients by looking at the interaction of diet, exercise, mental health, and medicine, and how they work together to impact blood sugar levels (Health 2022).
Since March 2019, Dr. Wilson and Mercy Forest Park IM/Peds have been working with Mercy Health – Fairfield HealthPlex for the Program’s fitness components. Dr. Wilson and his office also regularly refer patients to the MyFitRx® Diabetes Fitness pathway at the Fairfield HealthPlex. Those patients, however, often had to pay the $99 enrollment fee out-of-pocket. For many, this was a hardship.
In late 2022, Forest Park IM/Peds, along with Mercy Health – Eastgate Family Medicine, were awarded an Advanced Care Transformation Diabetes Care Grant to provide services to patients living with diabetes. Lisa Cobb, RN, was the leader of the grant writing team. The Diabetes Care Grant will cover the MyFitRx® program cost of each patient referred by the physicians at Mercy Eastgate and Mercy Forest Park. This will allow more community members access to a prescriptive fitness pathway that helps people with diabetes make positive lifestyle changes. The first patients will enroll in February 2023, with 200-300 patients expected to participate in MyFitRx® Diabetes Fitness through 2023:
“MyFitRx® allows for personalized patient support and aids a patient-centered continuum of care approach. Plus, physicians can easily track health outcomes and keep patients engaged in healthy habits,” says Ryan Lavell, Mercy HealthPlex Senior Director.
Stay tuned for a follow up communication in the upcoming months as we share more about this exciting opportunity for patients living with diabetes.
Bibliography
Assocation, Medical Ftness. 2020. 2020 MEDICAL FITNESS FACILITY & PROFESSIONALS OF THE YEAR AWARDS. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.medicalfitness.org/annual-conference/2020-award-winners/.
Health, Mercy. 2022. Dr. Wilson Sees Many Success Stories in His Diabetes Management Program. November 15. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://blog.mercy.com/forest-park-diabetes-management-program-cincinnati/.
Lavell, Ryan, interview by Cyntillia B. Nancy B. 2023. Senior Director of Mercy Health – Anderson HealthPlex (February 3).