Wellbridge Health's unique health program for IDD is designed to help individuals with IDD learn and implement healthy behaviors, gain greater independence, and increase their socialization using simple technology and ongoing support.
Our distinctive program combines an easy-to-use phone app with continuing support and guidance from masters’ trained health coaches. This High-Tech/High Touch approach results in meaningful engagement that improves quality of health and life.
Each day, our members respond to tailored wellbeing questions via our simple phone app while our health coaches monitor those responses and have video chats with members at least weekly to provide personalized education, support and encouragement. Working with a dedicated health coach for an extended period of time allows for our members to increase their health knowledge, gain confidence to make healthy behavior changes and improve their level of socialization. Our health coaches can work in tandem with your staff’s efforts to achieve these same goals of improved health and wellbeing.
For this population, in addition to overall health promotion, we focus on prevention of the "Fatal Four" conditions that lead to a significant number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and even preventable deaths: Constipation/Bowel Obstruction, Aspiration/Choking, Seizures, and Dehydration – also known as the "Fatal Four."
In the United States 7.37 million individuals have an IDD and 120 of every 1000 of these individuals will unfortunately die from one of the fatal four conditions. Over 45% of adults with IDD have chronic or recurrent constipation. An estimated 10% of all deaths are due to choking, or aspiration, and 20% are due to dehydration and malnutrition. Seizures lead to a 7% increase in emergency department utilization.
Lastly, we recognize that mental illness disproportionately affects this population and as such, our health coaches are trained to work with members who have these concurrent challenges.
Wellbridge Health’s program enhances care the individual may already be receiving, incorporating a simple and customizable mobile phone-based application (we can provide the phone and data plan, if needed) with simple daily questions that target common symptoms and risk factors of these serious health conditions. The goal of reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and increasing positive self-management behaviors is achieved through daily monitoring of (and responding to) the app questions as well as weekly video chat education provided by a dedicated, master’s level health coach. Through the video chat component of the program, social skills are also enhanced, and participants are encouraged to increase their participation in their local communities.
We work with individuals with IDD who are able to live independently or semi-independently with support from care staff.
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