Fairview Physician Associates (FPA) /UCare joint project to tackle adolescent obesity
Children ages 10-15 to participate in multidisciplinary, family-focused pilot
EDINA, March 2011--Thirty metro area children ages 10 to 15 and their families will gain tools and new confidence t
o help them succeed at weight loss, as part of a pilot project to fight childhood obesity. Fairview Physicians Associates (FPA) and UCare are working together to tackle this growing national health crisis.
“We are seeing diseases such as type 2 diabetes and kidney disease—once thought to be found only in adults—now in teens and children,” says William Nersesian, M.D., M.H.A., FPA chief medical officer and a pediatrician. “For the first time in this country’s history, today’s children may suffer a shorter life expectancy than that of their parents. Now is the time to act to reverse this problem.”
Recruiting UCare members ages 10-15 with BMI in the 85th percentile
FPA is actively recruiting now at Fairview clinics for participants ages 10 to 15 with a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile or higher who also are UCare members. The children will receive, at no charge, health and nutrition counseling directed at weight loss, while building confidence and knowledge to make healthy behavior choices.
The children and their families will participate in FPA’s CAN DO Youth Obesity Reduction program. CAN DO helps people change their activity, appetite, and attitude in order to reclaim their health and lead healthier lifestyles.
Fairview physicians will refer eligible UCare patients to the program and conduct necessary health assessments. Certified FPA health coaches will tailor individual care plans that include movement, exercise and healthy food choices. The coaches will help the children and their families set realistic goals for weight loss and maintenance, while respecting work and family issues and beliefs and values.
Lifestyle change
Participating children and their guardians will attend weekly CAN DO sessions for three months, engaging in health coaching, lifestyle change discussions, and interactive activities. Health coaches will measure the children’s progress through weight loss and BMI improvement, among other measures. Six months of monthly aftercare support will help participants maintain their health gains, followed by quarterly contact for up to two years.
The adolescent obesity initiative is the second joint project of UCare and FPA aimed at improving the health of communities. In 2010, FPA, UCare and Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina conducted a pilot program to reduce Medicare readmissions. Results after one year showed readmissions among the target population at Fairview Southdale Hospital dropped by 42 percent.
For more information or to refer a patient, contact Courtney Sanders, RD, csander2@fairview.org, 952-914-1842.
Fairview Physician Associates is a physician-led network of 1,200 independent, Fairview employed and University of Minnesota primary and specialty providers. Learn more at fpanetwork.org.