Ornish Lifestyle Medicine at Beebe receives reaccreditation
Beebe Healthcare has been awarded Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation recertification for 2019 through the Medicare-approved program, Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease, Ornish Lifestyle Medicine.
In 2015, Beebe Healthcare and Sharecare Inc. joined forces to bring the nationally acclaimed program to patients in the Sussex County area. Ornish Lifestyle Medicine is the first and only program scientifically proven to not only treat but reverse the progression of heart disease through comprehensive lifestyle changes. The recertification assesses the integrity of a site’s program delivery including clinical outcomes, clinical delivery team competency, engagement effectiveness, and patient and provider satisfaction.
The Beebe team comprises multidisciplinary healthcare providers including a medical director, registered dietician, chef, stress management specialist, nurse case manager, exercise physiologist and group support facilitator. The specially trained team works together to guide participants through four key areas: nutrition, stress management, fitness and social support. Participants learn to take control of their treatment by acquiring the knowledge, training and community resources needed to sustain healthier lifestyles. Participants typically include those who have been diagnosed with cardiovascular illnesses or other chronic conditions.
By providing this Medicare-approved program, Beebe Healthcare is able to increase non-invasive treatment options for patients and physicians while motivating participants to make positive lifestyle changes. Through the third year of offering the program, more than 135 area residents have been able to take control of their health, resulting in 5 percent decrease in weight and BMI, 10 percent decrease in total cholesterol and 6 percent decrease in A1C.
“Beebe is thrilled to be able to offer the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program to not only treat but reverse heart disease,” said Abby Tschoepe, Non-Invasive Cardiac and Vascular Services manager. “We are the only hospital in Delaware or on the Eastern Shore to offer this program, and our recent reaccreditation speaks to the phenomenal work and dedication of the Ornish team.”
The Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program aligns with industry-wide efforts to create value-based reimbursement models that reward health systems and physicians for sustained patient improvement. Simply put, healthier and better-managed patients require less treatment, and therefore cost health systems less money over time. The program is currently reimbursed nationwide by Medicare and most health insurances.
Ornish Lifestyle Medicine is at 18947 John J. Williams Highway, Rehoboth Beach. For more information, call 302-645-3514 or go to www.beebehealthcare.org.
