Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation and Verizon team up to help certain patients with chronic diseases monitor their health

Verizon and the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation have teamed up to help select patients who have a chronic disease manage their condition from home, according to a press release from KentuckyOne Health, St. Joseph's parent organization.

The program will help patients age 50 and older monitor and manage their health with new technologies after being discharged from Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East in Lexington, and Saint Joseph Mount Sterling.  It will also be available to some patients who have certain health issues by referral from their primary care provider or patients can enroll in the program if they have been treated for congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery bypass graft surgery, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia as well as some other concerns.

The goal is to enroll 300 patients in the first year of the program, according to the release.

Funding to create this program came from a $125,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation and in-kind donations of technologies, which includes 4G LTE powered smartphones and tablets, from Verizon Wireless. Grant funds will purchase biometric devices to better self-manage the participants conditions and share that information with their team of health care providers. 

Patients will use the smartphones and tablets for six months to access pre-loaded health apps, such as Glucose Buddy and Fooducate, according to the release. The grant will also provide items such as digital weight scales, blood pressure monitors, FitBit activity trackers, CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter book and digital food scales/nutritional calculators.  Some will get glucose test strips. Individualized health-coaching will also be available.

"Verizon is also supplying all of the technology protective gear for the devices, the data plans to allow that technology to work, plus funding for a part-time dietitian and research assistant for the program," the release says.