Ardent Solutions, Inc.

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.

While curbing the diabetes epidemic is a daunting task, strong evidence has emerged in support of strategies to prevent diabetes. Specifically, the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) was identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an effective, evidence-based public health program. This lifestyle intervention has been shown to help participants lose 5–7% of their body weight and reduce their risk of developing diabetes by nearly 60%. Building on previous work to replicate the NDPP, NYHealth issued a request for proposals, Laying the Groundwork to Scale Up the National Diabetes Prevention Program in New York State, to help disseminate and grow the NDPP. Through this initiative, NYHealth awarded grants to organizations to implement, expand, and secure the sustainability of the NDPP in community-based settings across the State. NYHealth awarded Ardent Solutions, Inc. (previously known as the Allegany Western Steuben Rural Health Network, Inc.) a grant to participate in this initiative.

With NYHealth funding, grantees of this initiative reached communities with high rates of diabetes and prediabetes, making this effective program available to New Yorkers in places where they live, work, and worship. The grant awards supported a range of activities to help organizations implement and grow the NDPP, including the expansion of existing programs; communication, outreach, and education activities to obtain a steady flow of participants; and development of business plans to ensure the sustainability of the program. Specifically, Ardent Solutions engaged approximately 70 residents in Allegany County through at least three physician and health care referral locations and five community partners. In addition, Ardent Solutions worked with organizations within the target communities to recruit volunteers to be trained as DPP facilitators, ensuring program sustainability; a consultant for Ardent Solutions was trained to perform such regional trainings and increase the capacity of the NDPP providers in the region. Ardent Solutions also worked with its partners to establish a framework for the continued growth of the program.

View a complete list of Laying the Groundwork grantees.