To decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in Ohio, a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) pilot program is currently being implemented in two Ohio FQHCs. This pilot program is part of a two-year funded effort supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Ohio Department of Health.
The two FQHCs, Health Partners of Western Ohio and Family Health Care of Northwest Ohio, are working closely with CliniSync to establish a bi-directional referral tool to connect with their local hospitals and the Community Health Record. To accomplish these prevention efforts, the health centers are working closely with CliniSync for assistance with back and forth referral tools to connect with their local hospitals and the Community Health Record. These tools will assist with program tracking and with other general patient referrals.
In order to carry out the overall pilot goal, Health Partners of Western Ohio, an FQHC located in Allen County, has applied for and received pending recognition by the CDC to implement a Diabetes Prevention Program within their facility. The structure will include a combination of online and in-person sessions, to make up the yearlong program a program coordinator and trained Lifestyle Coaches. Health Partners of Western Ohio has already identified 30 health center patients initially eligible for the program utilizing the CDC Prediabetes Screening Test.
Family Health Care of Northwest Ohio, an FQHC located in Van Wert County. Family Health Care of Northwest Ohio is working with CliniSync and Van Wert County Hospital to offer the DPP within their own facility. Patients are identified as eligible for the program in accordance with CDC Prediabetes Screening Test. Guided by trained lifestyle coaches from Van Wert County Hospital DPP, participants will meet in-person only. Van Wert County Hospital is also in pending recognition status, and is working towards receiving full CDC recognition for its DPP. Weekly classes began May 15th, 2017 with about 8 patients kicking it off. The health center has identified a total of 45 patients eligible for the program at this time and has started with a small cohort for the first group session.
With increasing prevalence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes among Ohioans, it is imperative that we attempt to prevent as many patients as possible from developing type 2 diabetes by modifying their lifestyle. This pilot project helps identify those patients at risk, refer them to evidence-based interventions, thus, preventing the progression to diabetes mellitus. Ultimately, further upstream efforts to prevent obesity will offer the best method to curb the rising rate of diabetes in our communities. By participating in this program, our demonstration FQHCs hope to show the best way to identify and intervene in the care of patients with pre-diabetes to reduce their rate of progression to full diabetes. We can then spread what we learn about best practices to all of our other FQHCs across the state.
