Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation Helps Patients Monitor Chronic Disease with Support from Verizon

LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Select patients managing chronic disease will soon have new technologies at their fingertips to monitor their condition thanks to the support of Verizon to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, part of KentuckyOne Health.

Funding from the Verizon Foundation as well as in-kind donation of technologies from Verizon Wireless will create a program to help patients age 50 and older monitor and manage their health with new technologies after being discharged from Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, all part of KentuckyOne Health.

Additionally, some patients referred from a primary care provider with certain serious health concerns or patients who have been treated for congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery bypass graft surgery, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and other concerns are eligible to enroll in the program.

The in-kind donation of technologies from Verizon includes 4G LTE powered smartphones and tablets.  In addition, grant funds will purchase biometric devices to allow patients to better self-manage their chronic conditions and share information with R.N. transition coaches, health coaches, certified dietitians, diabetes educators, nutrition counselors and primary care physicians, to better help patients achieve their health goals.  Patients will use these Verizon Wireless smartphones and tablets over the course of six months to access pre-loaded health apps, such as Glucose Buddy and Fooducate.

"It is the mission of KentuckyOne Health to bring wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved," said Ruth Brinkley, CEO, KentuckyOne Health.  "We are grateful to Verizon for its generous support and partnership in helping us bring that mission to life through this important program."

"Programs like this provided by Saint Joseph Hospital and KentuckyOne Health allow wireless technologies to help the underserved in rural communities improve long-term health outcomes and the strongest opportunity for overall wellbeing," said John Granby, president of Verizon Wireless for Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky.  "This program is a strong fit with the Verizon Foundation's mission to use our technology to solve critical social issues."

The $125,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation will provide items such as digital weight scales, blood pressure monitors, FitBit activity trackers, CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter book and digital food scales/nutritional calculators.  The grant funding will provide some Diabetes Mellitus patients with glucose test strips.

The program will also provide each patient with health coaching based on his or her individual health needs.  The coaching may include diabetes education, nutritional counseling and more.  Participants get to keep the cookbook and the digital food scale/nutritional calculator.

The goal is to enroll 300 patients in the first year of the program.

Verizon is also supplying all of the technology protective gear for the devices, the data plans to allow that technology to work, plus funding for a part-time dietitian and research assistant for the program.

"We are excited to forge this new partnership with Verizon through a grant that will make a significant and direct impact on the health of patients," said Di Boyer, director of major gifts, Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation.

About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company's innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education, healthcare and energy management.  Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live.  Verizon's employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities.  For more information about Verizon's philanthropic work, visit www.verizonfoundation.org; or for regular updates, visit the Foundation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/verizongiving).

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health was formed when two major Kentucky health care organizations came together in early 2012.  KentuckyOne Health combines the Jewish and Catholic heritages of the two former systems – Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System.  In late 2012, the organization formed a partnership with the University of Louisville Hospital | James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  The nonprofit system is committed to improving the health of Kentuckians by integrating medical research, education, technology and health care services wherever patients receive care.  KentuckyOne Health has more than 200 locations including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies across the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana.

For More Information:
David McArthur, Community and Media Relations Manager
502.562.7016 or 502.648.3411
[email protected]

SOURCE Verizon Wireless