The Health Coach Program Graduates New Class |
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| The Health Coach Program, spearheaded by Dr. Cheryl J. Dye, Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Dr. Deborah Willoughby, Professor in the School of Nursing at Clemson University, in collaboration with OMH Home Health Services Director, Ms. Freda Merck and DHEC’s Home Health Services Director, Ms. Mary Ellenburg, recently graduated another class of Health Coaches. These Health Coaches, after an intensive training and education program, will now work with discharged Home Health Services patients who have been diagnosed with Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, or Congestive Heart Failure. With this latest group of graduates, there are now twenty Health Coaches serving residents of Oconee county and rural areas of Pickens and Anderson counties. |
The Health Coaches’ goal is to help the discharged Home Health Services patients learn to self-manage their chronic condition. Research indicates that better self-management means better health and allows the patients the ability to stay in their homes and communities so that they can “age in place”. The Health Coaches work with discharged patients from both Oconee Memorial Hospital and DHEC Home Health Services who are 65 years or age or older, reside in Oconee County or rural areas of Pickens and Anderson counties, and need additional help with learning how to self-manage their diabetes, cardiovascular disease or congestive heart failure The Health Coach Program is funded through a Rural Health Outreach Initiative funded by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The program implements “best practices” in chronic disease management through a university/community partnership formed to solve some of the issues related to helping older adults stay in their homes and communities as long as possible. The success of the program is due to the impressive work of local community residents who have been trained as Health Coaches. The Health Coaches Program is currently seeking participants for the next class that will be held in the spring of 2008. For further information about becoming a Health Coach, contact Dr. Deborah Willoughby at 864-656-1437. |