Year: 2022

The Diabetes Coalition of Mississippi is supporting Mississippi Lifestyle Care a statewide delivery ecosystem for the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program and Findhelp social needs resource program. Thanks to grant funding provided by Novo Nordisk, Inc., a Lifestyle Coach workforce is being deployed to provide these programs in every Mississippi zip code. Medicare Part B participants will have the opportunity to engage in free lifestyle coaching for a year.

Mississippi is one of the first states to have a statewide Lifestyle Coach workforce to provide access to diabetes prevention care bundled with social needs resources that will help Medicare Part B beneficiaries with diet, exercise, weight loss, lowering social needs barriers, and many other healthy lifestyle changes for a full year at no cost.

For those that qualify as having prediabetes, a Lifestyle Coach will provide in-person support to help participants feel good, look better, live longer, and reduce their chances of experiencing the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Prediabetes is a condition where individuals have higher than normal blood sugar which increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.  It is estimated that 814,000 Mississippians have prediabetes, and many do not know it.

With eight in ten people on Medicare living with two or more chronic conditions and four in ten living with four or more, the writing is on the wall that something must be done to improve overall health outcomes.  It is critical to address burdensome health care costs for seniors with fixed incomes working to manage their budgets and their health.

Mississippi Lifestyle Care is focused on healthy lifestyle change to reduce the massive chronic disease burden on the state’s healthcare systems.  Never has a statewide effort launched a border-to-border Lifestyle Coach workforce to confront type 2 diabetes, obesity, and social determinants of health barriers.

Those who are interested in participating should visit www.MsLifestyleCare.com to find out if they are eligible for the program.

The Mississippi State Department of Health Diabetes Prevention and Control Program is excited to be providing a funding opportunity for new and existing Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) programs.  The purpose of this sub-grant is to support the delivery of DSMES in areas which have historically lacked access to evidence-based diabetes education services.  There will be a total of 6 sub-grants awarded totaling up to $25,000 each.  If you have any further questions after reviewing the application, we are inviting you to a scheduled informational session to be held on October 11, 2022, at 1:00 pm.  

Contact Monica Sawyer via email at  Monica.Sawyer@msdh.ms.gov for more information.  

Click here to view the subgrant funding opportunity details

Informational Meeting – October 11, 2022 at 1 p.m.
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Meeting ID: 895 0322 5419 
Passcode: 9JCzrd

Today I had a few back-to-back meetings as well as some article and policy reviews to work on. Besides the occasional 5-minute breaks, I remained seated. During this time of the year, our offices are swarmed with ladybugs, so there is the occasional swatting. However, I still remained seated. If this type of behavior goes on for five straight days, how might it affect my health? Edema may set it, along with poor circulation of the bloodstream.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has tremendously added to the stress we place on our bodies. There are no occasional visits to coworkers’ offices, no team lunch break walks in the parking garage or around the building. Lunches away from the office are almost unheard of now that many restaurants offer delivery and take outs. What we must remember is that we have a set of advanced skills. We can move our bodies with or without assistance to get the blood flowing. We can take our lunch break and walk around and choose to put on our mask. We can walk around the building inside and outside in shifts. We can choose to eat a lighter DASH lunch and save our heavier meals when we return home where some of us are sure to burn more calories, especially for those of us who don’t know how to sit down at home because there is always a dish or clothing to wash.

 As we embark upon 2022, let’s remember to be grateful and take care of our bodies. The Diabetes Coalition of Mississippi is here to help and is growing strong. We have a host of beautiful people working with us to help Mississippians prevent and control diabetes so that we can serve as a pillar of hope. We invite you to get involved and get moving towards improved health outcomes.

 Written by Tockie V. Hemphill, M.S.