Starting in September, members of the Kent County YMCA, Warwick, Rhode Island will be offered access to Pro-Change’s award-winning suite of LifeStyle Health Behavior Change programs. As part of this pilot program, titled MyHealth at the YMCA, members will be invited to take Pro-Change’s online Health Risk Intervention (HRI) either at computer kiosks located at the YMCA or at any Internet-enabled computer. The HRI will start the change process by pinpointing the member’s stage of readiness to change for various health risks and offering targeted guidance on the most important steps that can be taken to progress to the next stage of change.
YMCA members will be invited to meet with Member Navigators, who are YMCA staff, trained to discuss the HRI feedback and to assist in setting wellness goals based on readiness. Members will have access to seven behavior change programs including, smoking cessation, stress management, depression prevention, weight management, exercising regularly, and adherence to prescribed antihypertensive and/or cholesterol lowering medication. “This pilot is a great opportunity to expand the reach of our programs to more people in Rhode Island and to test the feasibility of delivering such programs at a state-of-the-art wellness center,” said Leanne Mauriello, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Product Development for Pro-Change.
Pro-Change’s LifeStyle Management Suite of programs won the 2009 URAC Gold Award in Health Management at the Best Practices in a Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Conference. Each time a YMCA member returns to a program (no more than once a month) they receive tailored feedback on how they are doing, what change strategies they are using well, which they may be under utilizing, and what steps they can take to continue progressing. The programs are built to help those not ready, getting ready, and ready to make a behavior change.
Each LifeStyle program is complemented by an engaging interactive e-Workbook filled with activities that promote the use of recommended strategies. Easily accessed from the user’s homepage, the e-Workbooks can be used at anytime.
Cindy McDermott, Vice President, YMCA of Greater Providence, is thrilled to offer Kent County members access to evidence-based behavior change programs through this pilot program. “The access to Pro-Change programs will allow our members, with the support of a Member Navigator, the opportunity to optimize a health and wellness plan that matches their individual health and wellness goals,” said McDermott. Opportunities for expanding MyHealth at the YMCA to members of other branches will be considered upon completion of the pilot in December of 2010.
The pilot program of MyHealth at the YMCA coincides with a multi-million dollar expansion of the Kent County facility that includes reconstruction of the current location, increased space, and new and improved facilities and program offerings.