Viridian Health Management

In New York State, an estimated 4.5 million people have prediabetes, a condition which heightens a person’s risk for developing diabetes and its complications.

To help ramp up diabetes prevention efforts across the State, NYHealth awarded grants to 25 community-based organizations to help them implement and spread the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP). This 16-week program, which focuses on lifestyle changes to improve healthy eating and physical activity, is a well-tested model that has been shown to reduce participants’ risk of developing the disease by 50%. With this investment, the Foundation reached communities from the Bronx to Buffalo with high rates of diabetes and prediabetes to make the NDPP available to New Yorkers where they live, work, and worship. To support this initiative, NYHealth awarded Viridian Health Management (VHM) a grant to provide technical support to the grantees.

Under this grant, VHM provided hands-on technical support to grantees in need of added help to ensure the successful start-up, implementation, and sustainability of the NDPP. VHM worked with grantees to create and strengthen referral networks; establish reimbursement streams; provide convening, marketing, and spokesperson supports; and offer support for data submission. Technical assistance activities included the development of protocols for data collection and management; help to establish and broker relationships among community organizations, health care providers, and third-party payers; the creation of an online learning network among community organizations and health care providers to facilitate referrals; and the mentoring of NDPP instructors to ensure the best possible results for participants of the program.