Appalachian Regional Healthcare officially launched a new Lifestyle Medicine Service Line at the ARH Hazard Clinic on Jan. 22, positioning the health system as the first in Kentucky to create a formal lifestyle medicine program and among only a few rural systems nationwide to do so.
The launch was marked with a ribbon-cutting event attended by ARH leadership, clinicians, community partners and members of the media, highlighting what officials described as a major shift in how health care is delivered in rural Appalachia.
“Today we mark a very important and exciting event here at Appalachian Regional Healthcare,” said Nika Larian, ARH vice president of wellness. “I’m really grateful to be joined here today by ARH leadership and providers, community leaders, as we launch our new serviceline. I always want to thank the teams that worked across departments at ARH to make today’s event possible.”
Larian said the program reflects ARH’s long-standing mission to address the unique health challenges facing rural communities.
“As you all know, ARH has long been committed to improving the health and wellbeing of rural Appalachia,” she said. “These rural communities often face significant barriers to care. We know that rural communities face higher rates of chronic disease, poor health outcomes and fewer choices for preventative care. This requires us to think differently and innovatively about how healthcare has been delivered. Today represents a culmination of a lot of those efforts.”
She said the Lifestyle Medicine Service Line represents a fundamental shift toward prevention-focused care.
“This service line represents an evolution and a shift towards a more proactive form of healthcare that focuses more on prevention and whole person care with an eye for long-term health,” Larian said. “(It’s) not just treating illness after it occurs, but preventing it before it happens in the first place. While care has long been delivered here in Hazard, today launches a formal lifestyle serviceline. This is a different form of healthcare and it looks different. These are stand alone programs with dedicated providers, time, space and resources to focus on lasting behavioral change and long-term health outcomes.”
Larian said the formalization of the program is especially meaningful in rural areas, where access to innovative care models is often limited.
“This change is especially important in our rural communities,” she said. “Because of the barriers that we face and we’re often not given the same access to some of these innovative frontline versions of healthcare that the more metropolitan areas see. So ARH is being really innovating in this space to bring the latest thinking in healthcare to rural Appalachia.”
ARH Chief Ambulatory Officer Roy Milwee said the service line is expected to expand beyond Perry County throughout the ARH system.
“We’re starting in Perry County but we’re going to put this everywhere in our region because it’s important to all of us,” said Milwee. “We’re very thankful to all our community partners, our clinicians, our community leaders and I have a special thank you to Holly Harris, our president and CEO. It’s her vision that gets us to where we are today. Her ideas and thoughts and passion to do great.”
Milwee said the initiative builds on ARH’s commitment to addressing chronic illness through prevention.
“ARH has always been committed to the health and wellbeing of our patients,” he said. “We know that the rural communities we serve suffer a higher rate of chronic illness and disease and that’s what this service line here is hopefully trying to address. This new Lifestyle Medicine Service Line reflects our focus on prevention and treatment of long-term illness. Not just treating illness when it occurs.”
Milwee said lifestyle medicine provides tools to support both patients and providers.
“Lifestyle medicine allows us to address chronic disease while also supporting providers with resources needed to practice patient center, whole-person care,” he said. “We can take care of you when you’re sick, but we need to help prevent you from getting sick. That’s what this program is about. These communities cannot improve without people getting healthier.”
Hazard Mayor Donald “Happy” Mobelini said the new service line further strengthens the relationship between the city and ARH.
“The City of Hazard could not exist without ARH,” said Mobelini. “It’s the largest employer, we have the best services. This is the first one of these in the state. Hazard is one of the best cities in the state.”
link
