Partnering For Success: HabitNu and Community Health Innovations Establish a First-Of-Its-Kind Umbrella Organization Model to Deliver the CDC-Recognized Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)

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Jul 10, 2020, 08:37 ET

CHICAGO, July 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HabitNu is pleased to announce that it has received Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program (DPRP) umbrella status recognition by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The umbrella arrangement was recently introduced by the CDC so that organizations with full CDC recognition based on their outcomes may serve as the sponsoring hub for Diabetes Prevention Program groups to develop economies of scale for sustainable delivery of the National DPP.

HabitNu has been delivering both in-person and online versions of the National Diabetes Prevention Program since 2017 for its own members and in partnership with aligned pharmacy, health systems and community health networks across the country. One such partner is Community Health Innovations (CHI), a joint venture between Montage Health and Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System in Monterey County, California. CHI's mission is to improve health and well-being in Monterey County by offering programs and services that help people live their best lives.

More than half the population in Monterey County has diabetes or prediabetes. Working with local partners in the community, CHI has been leading the effort to combat this diabetes epidemic. CHI launched its first three in-person classes in January 2020 with a total of 30 participants and the program has since expanded to eight English and Spanish-speaking online classes with funding from the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES) through a CDC cooperative agreement to scale the National DPP in underserved areas.

In April 2020, HabitNu and CHI entered into a first-of-its-kind "umbrella" agreement under the recent CDC guidelines. Under the umbrella arrangement, HabitNu will serve as the sponsoring hub and CHI will be able to benefit from the full CDC recognition status of HabitNu to achieve preliminary supplier status. CHI will be able to leverage HabitNu's existing infrastructure and processes including the HabitNu platform, digital tools, billing and claims submission service, data aggregation and DPRP reporting capability to develop its own best practices and scale the National DPP.

"With the extreme prevalence of diabetes in our community, we are pleased to partner with HabitNu in this unique way to reach as many people as possible with the proven success of the National Diabetes Prevention Program," said Elizabeth Lorenzi, vice president and chief operating officer of CHI.

"HabitNu's mission is to scale the reach of the DPP. To achieve this goal we have to adopt a partnership model. We are very excited to work with CHI under this newly proposed model by the CDC," said HabitNu's founder and CEO Dr. Sindhu Rajan.

"ADCES is proud to support Community Health Innovations and HabitNu to learn how the umbrella model can be effectively implemented across the country and increase the potential for long-term sustainability of CDC-recognized Diabetes Prevention Programs," said Kellie Antinori-Lent, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, BC-ADM, CDCES, FADCES, 2020 President of ADCES. "The National DPP has been a core element of our work in prediabetes over the last several years and we look forward to continue community partnerships like this."

This novel framework between HabitNu, a technology company delivering DPP and CHI, an organization serving its community is an example of partnerships that are essential for expanding the reach of the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

About HabitNu:
HabitNu is a scalable technology solution that provides platforms to administer scientifically proven programs to combat lifestyle diseases. HabitNu's lifestyle change program (DPP) is fully recognized by the CDC based on its outcomes. Learn more at HabitNu.com.

About CHI:
Community Health Innovations (CHI) was created to improve the health and well-being of residents of Monterey County. CHI is dedicated to advancing highly reliable, evidence-based healthcare delivery in Monterey and surrounding counties, resulting in a vibrant, engaged, and healthy population, and an aligned medical provider community. Learn more at CommunityHealthInnovations.org.

About the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists:
ADCES is an interdisciplinary professional membership organization dedicated to improving prediabetes, diabetes and cardiometabolic care through innovative education, management and support. With more than 12,000 professional members including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists and others ADCES offers an integrated care model that lowers the cost of care, improves experiences and helps its members lead so better outcomes follow. Learn more at DiabetesEducator.org.

Contact
Vernon Mathias
312-566-7871
[email protected]

SOURCE HabitNu