Tivity Health Launches Wisely Well to Provide Meals to Seniors
Nutrition program to be offered through health plans and direct to consumer in 2020
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tivity Health® (Nasdaq: TVTY), a leading provider of nutrition, fitness and social engagement solutions, will launch a meal delivery program in 2020 that will offer fully prepared meals specially designed by nutritionists to meet the dietary needs of older adults. Wisely Well™ Nutrition Solutions will support individuals and caregivers who are seeking meal convenience as well as those recovering after a hospitalization, living with chronic conditions or experiencing food insecurity. Wisely Well will be offered directly to consumers and through health plans.
Wisely Well will initially offer 25 pre-packaged meal options made with the highest quality ingredients and frozen at the peak of freshness to retain their nutrients and flavor. Options include meals that are specially formulated for those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The new brand is the result of Tivity Health's acquisition of Nutrisystem earlier this year and combines decades of food development and distribution experience with Tivity Health's expertise providing products that support overall health and well-being.
"Tivity Health acquired Nutrisystem to expand our ability to address the social determinants of health, including access to healthy food," said Donato Tramuto, Chief Executive Officer, Tivity Health. "Hospital readmission and chronic illness are both significant drivers of higher healthcare costs. We are proud that we were able to bring Wisely Well to market quickly to meet the needs of individuals for whom a few healthy, complete meals per day can dramatically improve their health."
In addition to being available directly to consumers, Wisely Well will be provided to eligible members through health plan partners to support patients at risk of readmission to the hospital or who are chronically ill. Hospital readmissions costs Medicare $26 billion annually, with about $17 billion spent on avoidable hospital trips after discharge1. Evidence supports using food as medicine as an effective tool to reduce 30-day readmission rates2. With Wisely Well, meals can be ordered through discharge planning or care management teams coordinating with the patients' health plan.
Health plan members who wish to continue receiving the meals can transition to a direct pay relationship with special promotional pricing. All Wisely Well meals are designed to support the nutrition needs of seniors, with flexible program options that can also help address food insecurity in the older adult population.
"Our demographics are shifting dramatically; approximately 11,000 people turn 65 every day and Americans are living longer, creating a demand for new and innovative products to support not only older adults, but also their caregivers," said Joe Coughlin, Ph.D., Founder and Director, MIT AgeLab. "At the AgeLab we are exploring the kinds of services needed by older adults as well as their families and caregivers to enable them to age in place. Proper nutrition and convenient access to healthy meals is fundamental, particularly for those who may be recovering from a recent hospitalization or chronically ill."
Tivity Health serves more than 15 million eligible Medicare Advantage members through SilverSneakers, the nation's leading fitness program for older adults, and expanded its capabilities to include nutrition when it acquired Nutrisystem in March. With the acquisition, the company broadened its focus on improving health and quality of life through physical activity, social connection, and nutrition by providing healthy, balanced food to those who need it due to food insecurity, chronic illness or short-term support after hospital discharge.
About Tivity Health, Inc.
Tivity Health is a leading provider of nutrition, fitness and social connection solutions. With its family of healthy life-changing solutions, including SilverSneakers®, Nutrisystem®, South Beach Diet®, Prime® Fitness, Wisely Well™ and WholeHealth Living™, Tivity Health is impacting the lives of millions. By working with a diverse set of partners, including payers, healthcare practitioners and employers, to provide more opportunities to empower people to feel, do and be better, Tivity Health is transforming the way we do health. Learn more at TivityHealth.com.
1 Lim, Su Lin et al. "Malnutrition and Its Impact on Cost of Hospitalization, Length of Stay, Readmission and 3-Year Mortality." Clinical Nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland), U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22122869.
2 Sriram et al. A Comprehensive Nutrition-Focused Quality Improvement Program Reduces 30-Day Readmissions and Length of Stay in Hospitalized Patients. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.2017; 41(3):384–391.
SOURCE Tivity Health
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