Georgia Project Quarterly e-Newsletter

Volume 3, No. 1 (March 2009)

Metabolic Syndrome Project Update

Metabolic Syndrome involves hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia. It is associated with over 80% of myocardial infarctions. Metabolic Syndrome involves the secretion of a wide array of hormones from belly fat that adversely affects metabolism and is associated with an ‘apple body shape’ – one in which individuals carry excess fat in the mid-section of the body. It is defined as [1] a fasting blood sugar greater than 110 mg/dl; [2] a waist circumference greater than 40” in a man or 35” in a woman; [3] an LDL greater than 100 mg/dl; and [4] a systolic blood pressure greater than 135 mm Hg.

The Columbus, Georgia Project was designed to enhance the knowledge of patients and physicians about Metabolic Syndrome and its related components. The project was designed to perform a combination of health assessments via work-site screenings and educational programs. 1004 participants were recruited through 24 local employers. The following measures were taken to determine risk factors for Metabolic Syndrome:

• Waist Circumference

• Change in HBA1C (.05%),

• Change in Fasting Blood Sugar

• Change in Systolic Blood Pressure (10 mmHg)

• Change in High-density lipoprotein level [HDL] (20 mg/dl)

Currently the Columbus Research Foundation is doing the second year follow up screenings at participating companies. Second year screenings have been completed at fifteen of twenty-four employer work sites. To date, looking at the second year results compared to the first year screenings, most participants have made improvements in their health. This is a positive indication that work-place screening and education can impact the health of individuals. We look forward to the analysis of the data and upcoming reports from the project.

Some of the analysis from year one screenings have begun coming in from Pfizer Health Solutions, and an abstract has been submitted to the American Diabetes Association based on these analyses. If selected, Columbus Research Foundation will have the opportunity to present the findings at the American Diabetes Association 69th Scientific Session.

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Microsoft Be-Well Fund Project Update

The Columbus Research Foundation ‘Be Well Columbus Georgia Project’, made possible by a grant from the Microsoft Corporation Be Well Fund, kicked off January 17, 2009 and will come to a close April 24, 2009. It was offered on a voluntary basis to all twelve middle schools of which ten chose to participate. The district has 3500 seventh graders enrolled and about 900 signed up for the project along with 100 teachers.

The project is a competition among homerooms and hinges on an interactive website, http://www.walktomicrosoft.com/. Students log daily physical activity in the form of steps or miles by using a pedometer and log their daily food intake. They are taking a virtual walk across the country with their logged miles and will end at the Microsoft Corporation in Bellevue, Washington. Each participating student and the teacher of the first homeroom to collectively accrue 2977 miles and reach Microsoft will win a Wii, Wii Fit and a game of their choice. Other incentive prizes, including new tennis shoes, are being awarded as they reach designated mile markers. Position in the competition with a map showing each homeroom’s position can be viewed at the project web site. A rankings schedule gives them real-time reporting of how their homeroom ranks by school and overall and how each individual walker ranks. A red, yellow or green light appears as they enter their food, based on caloric, cholesterol and fat values. A graph using these three colors indicates by percentage how healthy they have been eating since they first logged in. The ultimate goal is for their graph to reflect more green color as the project winds down.

Students, parents and teachers say that they have become much more aware of junk food and idle lifestyles since they began the Be Well Project. Students are motivated by their pedometers to log more steps and have learned to read food labels. Many are reporting actual weight loss. Others report they have insisted that their families join them in daily walks or gym memberships.

The competition has heated up as the end date approaches. One homeroom moved from being ranked number eight to number three in less than two weeks. This Title One School  is being led by an energetic teacher who has 100% participation in her class and says she wants to win so she can donate the Wii System to her classroom.

This is a pilot program and the Columbus Reserch Foundations hopes to build on the success of the Be Well Project in future projects in collaboration with the school system.

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CHT recently brought together a panel of CHT members and industry leaders to discuss the creation of the 21st Century Intelligent Pharmacy Project. The planning committee met in mid-March to discuss specific areas of focus which include the creation of a patient-centered system, continuity of care, disease management, compliance/adherence, patient safety, technology, improved communication, reimbursement/payment reform, acceleration of evidence based best practices in pharmacy, and FDA reform.

CHT founder Newt Gingrich will officially launch the 21st Century Intelligent Pharmacy Project at the annual meeting of the National Council Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) in early May. For more information on the project or to become a part of a working group, contact Wayne Oliver at woliver@gingrichgroup.com.