State's Largest Medicaid Managed Care Plan Offering Second Round of Training to Combat West Virginia Obesity Epidemic
Posted on: Monday, 7 April 2008, 09:01 CDT
CHARLESTON, W.Va., April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- With adult and childhood obesity figures reaching alarming totals, UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc. (UniCare) continues to be an innovator for solutions. Last October, UniCare received national attention as it launched its first round of training to physicians and their staff on ways to help detect, prevent and manage obesity in both adults and children.
Governor Joe Manchin III and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Martha Walker were on hand for the initial announcement and praised the training's objective.
"If we're going to make a dent in the state's obesity problem, we must first help physicians and their staff to identify the problem among their patients," said Governor Manchin. "Additionally, we need to arm physicians with the newest technologies and processes to manage the disease."
Manchin also praised the events for targeting a population with a high risk for obesity, Medicaid recipients.
The sessions are designed to help prepare physicians and their staff in the provision of obesity-related care. Locations include:
-- Martinsburg - April 7, Holiday Inn Martinsburg -- Bluefield - April 14, Holiday Inn of Bluefield -- Logan - April 15, Chief Logan Conference Center -- Parkersburg - April 21, Camden Clark Memorial Hospital -- Clarksburg - April 22, United Hospital Center
"UniCare is providing West Virginia's medical community with tools and information they can use to better serve not only our members, but all of their patients as well," said Mitch Collins, regional director for UniCare. "The more our members understand the importance of eating healthy and being active, whether it's from a Weight Watchers class, their physician, or their physician's staff, the more likely they'll be to make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle."
The events are structured in a way for both physicians and their staff to receive training and participate. Physicians participate in an accredited continuing medical education (CME) session. The CME addresses prevention, detection, assessment and management of obesity.
At the same time the CME is given, clinical staff members get the opportunity to participate in a body mass index (BMI) training session. That session includes valuable hands-on practice, along with tools and resources, including a BMI calculator wheel, BMI-for-age growth charts, job aids, family brochures and parent educational materials.
To conduct the CME sessions, UniCare is continuing its collaboration with Dr. Stephen Sondike, a physician specializing in pediatric and adolescent obesity prevention and management. Sondike is section head of adolescent medicine and director of the Adolescent Cardiovascular Health Program at West Virginia University Physicians of Charleston. He is also an associate professor of pediatrics at West Virginia University.
Dr. Sondike also conducted the first round of CME sessions in Charleston, Beckley and Morgantown.
"Dr. Sondike has the expertise to champion the physician CMEs and we are certainly lucky to have him involved," said Collins. "His knowledge will provide a valuable learning experience for physicians who take advantage of the events."
"We know that physicians play an important role in the fight against obesity," said Dr. Harvinder Sareen, director of clinical programs for UniCare. "Our goal is to provide training to physicians and clinical staff and equip their practices with tools to facilitate standard screening for members with this condition or those at risk. Early identification will allow physicians to provide directed anticipatory guidance and management services to children and families who need it the most."
WellPoint, Inc., the parent company of UniCare, serves more than two million Medicaid managed care members in 14 states. Members have access to a wide network of health care professionals as well as health management programs that are accredited and nationally recognized in several states.
Physicians can register for the events by contacting UniCare at 1-888-611-9958 or childhoodobesity@wellpoint.com.
About UniCare
UniCare serves approximately 75,000 members and is an operating subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc., the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States. WellPoint offers a broad spectrum of quality network-based health products including open access PPO, POS and hybrid products, HMO and specialty products. Specialty products include pharmacy benefit management, dental, utilization management, vision, mental health, life and disability insurance, long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, COBRA administration, and Medicare supplements. UniCare can be found on the web at http://www.unicare.com/.
UniCare
CONTACT: Leslie Porras, PR Director, of Wellpoint, Inc.,+1-805-557-6745
Web site: http://www.unicare.com/
Source: PRNewswire
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