n 2020, YMCA of the Triangle and Duke Family Medicine (DFM) began a collaborative journey to address physician awareness, patient education and utilization of community programming to better support health intervention efforts for people with pre-diabetes or at risk for pre-diabetes.
Dr. Karen Scherr at DFM spearheaded a physician-led approach that allowed internal awareness and education about the Y’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) for providers to be shared and practiced among Duke Family Medicine clinics. “Dr. Scherr’s efforts supported the internal champions within the physician network and was instrumental in increasing physicians’ understanding of the Y’s program and how it could help their patients make the lifestyle changes that would help improve their health,” said Kat Combs, Association Director of Community Health at the Triangle Y.
A silver lining of the pandemic has been the evolution of offering DPP virtually (with the CDC’s approval) as well as in person. The Y and DFM worked together to provide these options, and the benefits of patient accessibility to the program far outweighed the cons of not having in-person engagement. “We found that patients were meeting their health goals, while we continued meeting CDC accreditation standards,” Combs said. The Y enrolled 50 patients for in-person programs in 2019 through the DFM partnership, but more than 300 patients each year for nearly three years since then by adding virtual options.
“We have worked through challenges and learned lessons that can support this work moving forward,” said the Triangle team. DFM has been able to consistently send Direct Messages through a HIPPA-secure platform for DPP to the YMCA of the Triangle team to process, navigate next steps and enroll patients in programs.
With 2025 around the corner, both the Y and DFM continue to advocate for continuation of funding to support facilitation and access of the program statewide. This project was supported in full by NC State & Blue Cross Blue Shield NC.
(September 4, 2024)