142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

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Berkshire Health Systems-Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 4:54 PM - 5:02 PM

Mark Pettus, MD , Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, MA
Andrew Pleasant, PhD , Health Literacy and Research Director, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
Jennifer Cabe, MA , Executive Director, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
Chuck Palm, MPH , Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
Richard Carmona, MD MPH FACS , President, Board of Directors, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
David Phelps, MBA , Berkshire Health Systems, Pittsfield, MA
Ruth Blodgett, MBA , Berkshire Health Systems, Pittsfield, MA
Diane Kelly, RN, BSN, MBA , Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, MA
Darlene Rodowicz, MBA , Berkshire Health Systems, Pittsfield, MA
A. Gray Ellrodt, MD , Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, MA
Maureen Daniels, Health Educator , 725 North St., Pittsfield, MA
Berkshire County is the western-most of 14 counties in Massachusetts. In health outcomes, Berkshire County ranks 11th among the fourteen counties of Massachusetts. Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) is a county-wide health care system that includes Berkshire Medical Center, the largest hospital in the region. Striving to improve the health of all residents of Berkshire County, Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) was named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics, one of only five hospitals so honored in the Northeast. BMC is also one of two Massachusetts hospitals recognized in the Teaching Hospitals category. Expanding the reach of a traditional health care system approach to simply treating disease, BHS has partnered with Canyon Ranch Institute to offer the the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program (CRI LEP). This integrative health program is based on the evidence-based best practices of health literacy to focus on prevention of chronic disease. To date, results from the CRI LEP in low-income communities in multiple sites across the United States demonstrate that emphasizing the integration of mind-body-spirit coupled with the best practices of health literacy creates statistically and clinically significant improvements in participant’s health. Since its launch in 2013 in Berkshire County, the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program at BHS has already made a significant mark on the health and wellbeing of members of the Berkshire County community. This film presents the views of participants and Core Team members who provide the program to low-income participants who are at risk for or already diagnoses with one or multiple chronic diseases. The short documentary film allows participants to express the hope they have to live a life of wellness as well as they successes they experience by participating in the CRI LEP at BHS. Viewers will laugh, and cry, as they experience the reality of participant's lives. View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZudcBqvtyRM.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Describe the integrative health approach and focus on prevention and health literacy that underpin the Berkshire Health Systems - Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement program. Demonstrate the health improvement and healthcare cost savings possible through lifestyle change created in the lives of participants of the Berkshire Health Systems - Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement program. Discuss the relevance and utility of the Berkshire Health Systems - Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement program to the populations viewers serve.

Keyword(s): Chronic disease management and prevention, Public health or related education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the integrative health lead member of the Berkshire Health Systems Core Team which provides the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program to low-income and at risk for chronic disease residents of Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.