Baptist offers diabetic workers weight loss option
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Diet and exercise were the focus of a program to help diabetics at Baptist.
It’s hard enough to be overweight with no accompanying health problems. But when you add diabetes, the pressure to lose weight is immense.
With the financial help of a grant from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, Baptist Health Systems recently offered eight of its diabetic employees the opportunity to participate in a weight loss program at its on-site nutrition center, at no cost.
“There was a need for the employees of Baptist to lose weight and improve their health,” said Amy Dent, clinical nutrition manager and registered dietician. “But the biggest dilemma was how to pay for it. Not all of them could afford to do the program.”
The start-up fee for the program is $588. Upper management at the hospital could afford it, Dent said, but not lower salary workers who most needed it.
The grant funded eight participants. Each was measured on height, weight and body mass index, and their medications were catalogued.
“We worked with higher-risk employees,” said Dr. Chad Rhoden, Baptist’s clinical and research director of preventive medicine and health promotion. “They had multiple risk factors.”
The eight had all been diagnosed with Type II diabetes.
They started the New Directions program at Baptist, and began a liquid diet. Their medications were monitored. A staff physician helped them on the way.
“They came into the clinic like anyone else would,” Dent said. “They met with behavioral counselors, to identify if there were underlying issues on why they were overweight, and behavior modifications.”
They also worked with an exercise physiologist at the Baptist Healthplex, where they started on workout routines.
“Two of them are finishing the program now and the other six are just getting started,” she said. “The two finishing up did the program for 20 weeks. One lost 89 pounds and one lost 86 pounds.
“That program is designed for people who need to lose more than 50 pounds. If you need to lose less than that, there’s a different program to put you on.”
Based on the success of the diabetes program, Rhoden said he plans to pursue additional funding.
“I hope at some point we are able to show enough benefits from investing in good health for our employees that we’ll be able to provide funding for other such programs,” he said.
Baptist recently made the decision to cover the New Direction program under its wellness policy, to make it more affordable for employees.
“It’s treated just like if you’re getting a mammogram,” she said, “it falls under the wellness or screening area.”
Dent said she always tells people to check with their insurance carriers to see if they cover the New Direction program. The $588 fee covers lab work, physicals, food and a six-month membership to the Healthplex.
“As a health system organization, Baptist is doing a lot now, but in our environment and culture, more needs to be done,” Rhoden said. “We hope to do this here at Baptist and show others — including those in Mississippi — that it’s worth that time and investment, for the health benefits received.”
