Coalition takes aim at chronic diseases

By Carter Thompson
The Galveston Daily News
Published 4/26/04

GALVESTON — A coalition led by the county health district hopes to improve the health of people with such chronic aliments as heart disease and asthma, at the same time lowering the cost of health care.

The coalition, featuring the same players as in the community health access plan, earlier this month applied for a $830,000 federal grant to start programs aimed at people with or at risk of chronic diseases. The programs would include classes to teach patients how to manage their disease, educational outreach and improved technology to allow the health district and local hospitals to share patient information and test results.

The coalition proposed focusing on such cardiovascular diseases as high blood pressure and heart disease in the first year. Following years would bring efforts to better manage pulmonary diseases, including asthma and emphysema.

Health district officials hope to recreate the success of a diabetes program they started 18 months ago, said Susan Studebaker, director of community health programs.

The program began in the district’s 4Cs Clinic in Texas City. A nurse taught classes of diabetics how to manage their disease, with the focus on patients creating their own lifestyle plan covering things including diet, Studebaker said.

Support groups have since formed, and the health district is looking at providing classes on cooking, relaxation and exercise. The classes were started at the clinic in Galveston, she said.

Health district officials say the diabetes program has been successful in drawing people to the clinics who previously may not have been getting treatment.

“Originally they were people coming into the clinics anyway,” Studebaker said. “Now because of word of mouth we’re getting additional people and families.”

That’s an encouraging trend in a county where a high number of uninsured people show up at hospital emergency rooms for nonemergencies or with medical conditions that could have been treated more effectively and less expensively had treatment been sought earlier, medical authorities have said.

The new programs would include resources to address depression, obesity and other health problems that frequently accompany chronic diseases.

The federal grant that funded the community health access program ended this year, after three years. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration only allows for three years of funding to an applicant so the health district assumed leadership of the new group that includes many of the same players as the previous coalition.

Ted Hanley, a member of the district’s board of health and executive director of the Jesse Tree, said the first grant provided an infrastructure to connect providers and clients and identified health and social service resources. It also gave health and social service providers a clearer picture of the needs. “What we learned is first we have a significant percentage of people unininsured or underinsured,” he said. “We learned a significant percentage of them are affected by chronic medical conditions that are difficult to manage if you don’t have access to some other community services.”

Hanley said social service providers played a key role in helping those with chronic illnesses. The Jesse Tree makes available 15 tons of fresh produce each week and would be looked to for classroom space.

Churches are helping by providing test strips that measure blood sugar, a key supply for diabetics that can cost up to $100 a month, Hanley said. “With chronic illnesses you need to learn to modify lifestyle, modify diet and make ends meet when resources are really challenged by the disease,” he said.

For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
(409) 938-2211
kkoopman@gchd.org