By DR. OPELLA ERNEST, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF ILLINOIS
Gerry Allen, a resident of North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side, suffered for years with unmanaged diabetes. But, thanks to an expanded community health initiative launched in April 2012 between a local hospital and an insurance provider, he did something he thought he’d never do.
At an event held for The Lawndale Diabetes Project, as it’s known, Allen volunteered to share his story about the journey he’s been on learning to live with (and manage) a chronic disease. He talked about Sinai’s community health workers, and how their persistence in visiting his home and working with him one-on-one were pivotal to his improvement. He explained how they identified his condition through a door-to-door screening, and then guided him through the process of actively managing his diabetes and educated him about the do’s and don’ts of the disease.
SPONSORED
The project that Allen benefitted from is the product of a joint venture in health care innovation between Sinai Health System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. Following initial success, the program is expanding thanks to a $1.2 million community grant and another for $500,000 this year by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. Both Blue Cross and Sinai hope the project will improve residents’ health outcomes and help turn the tide on the diabetes epidemic in North and South Lawndale.
The reality is that it’s one thing to collect data on the prevalence of a chronic disease in a community. It’s another to measurably improve its health by conducting such a program. But that’s exactly what’s happening. In fact, the Sinai team reports improved outcomes for the program’s participants — improvement that was statistically significant. Early on, they identified some of the highest rates of diabetes yet seen, with prevalence in North Lawndale as high as 28 percent.
Through the unique community health worker model that includes door-to-door assessments, follow-up home visits, healthy cooking schools and diabetes self-management classes, participants are significantly improving their A1C (blood sugar) values.
To date, preliminary findings indicate that more than 40 percent of all diabetics in the program from North Lawndale have improved their A1C values in the time between their initial home visit and follow-up visits. In South Lawndale, also known as Little Village, diabetics had a marked improvement of 66 percent.
Employing trained health workers from within the community itself is proving to be a success. It is yet another way to improve healthcare access in all of our communities. By actively managing diabetes, The Lawndale Diabetes Project contributed to lowering overall healthcare costs by avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits while it improved the health and quality of life for people like Gerry Allen.
Dr. Opella Ernest, is the Chief Medical Officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. BCBSIL is committed to promoting the health and wellness of its members and its communities, fostering greater access to care, and working to lower the overall cost of care while improving the health care quality and patient outcomes. This commentary is sponsored by BCBSIL.
