Healthy Weight Initiative

Partners:

CAVU funding, in partnership with the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation: >$275,000 per year

Results:

Eight participating Healthy Weight Clinics, over 700 kids served to date

50% of ongoing participants have reduced their Body Mass Index (BMI)

30% have reduced their screen time (TV, computers, video games)

45% consumed fewer or no sweetened beverages

45% increased their physical activity

In 2007 CAVU partnered with the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation to launch the Healthy Weight Initiative, an innovative effort to address pediatric obesity in underserved communities. The Healthy Weight Initiative employs a collaborative approach of replicating a single clinical model (the Healthy Weight Clinic) at participating health centers, supported by centralized technical assistance and data collection. The HWI focuses on enhancing CHC core competencies by utilizing clinical, nutritionist and case management resources that are familiar and/or available to many CHCs. Much of this activity is billable, ensuring a sustainable revenue stream to support the Healthy Weight Clinic in the long term. Collaborative meetings and infrastructure and centralized technical assistance allow frequent CHC interaction and sharing of data to promote rapid and constant learning by the CHC participants and to improve continuity and quality of care for overweight/obese pediatric patients.

To date, there are eight operational Healthy Weight Clinic sites: Bowdoin Street Health Center, Codman Square Health Center, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center , Greater New Bedford Community Health Center , Holyoke Health Center, Lowell Community Health Center, Outer Cape Health Services, and Whittier Street Health Center. In selecting sites, CAVU sought CHCs with organizational commitment to the Initiative, a track record of addressing overweight/obesity, a sizeable patient need for services, and strong clinical leadership.

In addition to the Massachusetts CHCs, Coastal Family Health Center (Gulf Coast Mississippi) has obtained funding from the Johnson & Johnson Community Health Program to allow them to test the Healthy Weight Clinic model for implementation beyond Massachusetts.

Collaboration is a key element of the Healthy Weight Initiative, as health centers have not historically had a CHC-driven venue for collaboration around pediatric obesity. Through a combination of live meetings, conference calls, and online collaborative applications like the Healthy Weight Blog, health centers are able to learn from each other and from experts in the field to ensure high quality patient care. In addition, sites receive regular site visits from the Healthy Weight Medical Director, Dr. Shikha Anand, and from the HWI Program Manager, Penny Marston, to ensure that clinic staff receives any technical support they need. CAVU has also developed an online data collection and reporting system which facilitates data collection and reporting both for individual clinics and in aggregate. CAVU will evaluate the success of the HWI through both clinical outcomes for patients and improvements in the quality of care provided at participating sites.

Partnerships:

In late 2008 CAVU formed a partnership with Good Sports, a Boston-based non-profit whose mission is to increase youth participation in sports, fitness, and recreational programs by targeting one of the major obstacles limiting participation - access to sports equipment. Working with the Healthy Weight Clinic staff at health centers participating in CAVU's Healthy Weight Initiative, Good Sports provides patients with exercise equipment necessary for them to reach their fitness goals. This partnership will allow patients to participate in sports and other fitness activities that may have previously been inaccessible due to the cost of necessary equipment. Good Sports also provides incentives to reward patients' participation and success in the Healthy Weight Clinics.

In November 2009, CAVU also partnered with the Truth Fund, the charitable foundation founded by Boston Celtics Team Captain Paul Pierce. This new partnership brings together both organizations' programs to improve the health of underserved children across Massachusetts, beginning with the issue of pediatric obesity, which is a priority for both CAVU and the Truth Fund. The Truth Fund has recently launched FitClub34, an interactive website designed to motivate kids to exercise and eat healthy. Patients at all eight HWI sites can receive free activity watches through this partnership, which allow them to track their physical activity and to accrue points for fun incentives through the FitClub34 website.

In 2010 CAVU has launched a new partnership with Wholesome Wave, a national organization that supports increased production and access to healthy, fresh, and affordable locally grown food through partnership-based programs. Together CAVU and Wholesome Wave are piloting a Fruit and Veggie Rx program which allows providers at three of CAVU's Healthy Weight Clinics to prescribe farmers market vouchers to families in need. The vouchers will provide the Healthy Weight patient's family with enough voucher dollars to increase each family member's consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by one serving per person per day. Through CAVU's newly redesigned data collection system and pre and post surveys with the families, we will be able to evaluate the impact of the prescriptions on patients' fruit and vegetable consumption and health outcomes, and hope to expand the program to additional sites in the future. CAVU and Wholesome Wave are also exploring opportunities to improve access to fruits and vegetables beyond the standard farmers market season, either through access to year-round indoor markets or through other food producers and retailers.