Community-Based Chronic Disease Management Clinic

Community Impact – Community-Based Chronic Disease Management Clinic 

Blood pressure screening. Blood sugar testing. Smoking cessation assistance.

Not exactly what you’d expect to find when you visit a food pantry for groceries.

That is exactly what David Thomas and other visitors to the New Life Food Pantry will encounter any Wednesday that they come to pick up their monthly groceries.

When David arrived at the food pantry in October 2007, he was surprised to find the grand opening of the Community-Based Chronic Disease Management (CCDM) Clinic, now located within the food pantry. After agreeing to have his blood pressure taken, he was further surprised to hear that his dangerously high blood pressure put him at rist to have a stroke at any time.

David’s story doesn’t end there.

The clinic not only provides health screenings but also treatment and education on hypertension, diabetes, obesity and smoking cessation, as well as access to a social worker who can help determine whether a person qualifies for any government healthcare programs.

David immediately had “labs” drawn, was seen by a doctor and then received low-cost hypertension medication to begin lowering his blood pressure.

The CCDM Clinic – a collaborative partnership between Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin – is taking a new, proactive approach to health care for uninsured people by locating at a site they already frequent.

“We’re taking a ‘window of opportunity’ approach,” explains Bill Solberg, director of community services for Columbia St. Mary’s.

The partners hope that the clinic will screen, educate and serve 1,500 impoverished people this year.

As the number of the uninsured people soars, it becomes increasingly difficult to find appropriate management of their chronic diseases, which require ongoing care. Anticipating expansion to at least three more clinics by June 2010, the partnership is providing much-needed services to underserved populations.

CCDM is made possible by a three-year grant from the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (HWPP), an endowment program of the Medical College of Wisconsin secured through the CSM Foundation.

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