Through the combined partnerships, individuals within these church-based communities will have greater access to care teams and resources to better manage chronic conditions
Rimidi, an Atlanta-based digital health company focused on optimizing clinical workflows, enhancing patient experiences, and achieving quality objectives for chronic disease management, today announced the company is now partnering with Brighter Day Health Foundation, a 501(c)3 created to help address the chronic care needs of vulnerable populations through church-based wellness clinics. Together, the organizations will provide underserved communities in Atlanta with access to chronic disease management within their local churches, including Remote Patient Monitoring.
Underserved populations are the most at risk for developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease. In Atlanta specifically, where the city has the highest level of income inequality compared to other cities in the U.S., low-income communities within the area have long faced problems with access to health services as well as availability during the week to see ancillary providers. In order to solve these problems, these communities need greater access to affordable and convenient healthcare as well as patient education to properly manage and reduce the negative impacts of chronic conditions.
The first two Atlanta churches implementing the RPM program are Impact Church and Word of Faith Family Worship. Currently, 350 patients are enrolled in the program, of which 80% are African American, 35% are male, 65% are female and average around the age of 55. The patients have access to a nurse practitioner and registered dietitian on the weekend to aid in managing their chronic condition, while also providing ongoing patient education around nutrition. Within the program, the clinical staff at the church also develop benchmarks for each patient and provide blood pressure cuffs that connect back to the Rimidi platform, where the clinical team can remotely track blood pressure, receive notifications about concerning readings, and monitor trends. Patients are then able to work with their clinical team on a regular basis to monitor levels and nutrition, adjusting treatment plans appropriately.
“Chronic diseases are some of the most prevalent, yet challenging conditions to manage, especially when social determinants of health can create barriers to care. Therefore, it’s our responsibility as a clinical management platform to reduce those barriers through innovative technology, such as RPM,” said Lucienne Ide, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Rimidi. “Our partnership with Brighter Day Health Foundation is aiming to meet patients where they are–literally–in their communities. Together, we will seek to provide individuals who currently may have limited access to healthcare within the Atlanta community with new tools and services to better manage their chronic conditions and improve their health overall.”
“Our goal at Brighter Day Health Foundation is not to take the place of the primary care provider, but to provide timely secondary interventions that help preclude ‘rising risk patients from becoming high risk patients.’ Our faith-based model brings people into the healthcare system by creating new care access points and removing the non-clinical barriers to care that have historically plagued minority and underserved communities,” said Eric Nixon, MPH, President and CEO of Brighter Day Health Foundation. “I’m excited to collaborate with Rimidi to provide these communities with the patient education, clinical staff, RPM tools and long-term support they need to improve or better manage their chronic conditions, all within a trusted environment.”
One patient enrolled in the program reported that, “with the support of the clinic and my primary care doctor, I have been able to lose 50 pounds this year and my A1C is out of the prediabetic range and my blood pressure has normalized.”
To learn more about this program and become involved with the Brighter Day Health Foundation, visit www.providencialmd.com. For more information on Rimidi and how healthcare organizations within underserved communities can leverage its cloud-based software solutions, visit rimidi.com/solutions.