MONTGOMERY AREA COMMUNITY WELLNESS COALITION
Working Together to Improve Health and Access for All
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Wellness Coalition serves the River Region of Alabama – Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes, and Macon Counties – which is home to almost 400,000 residents (US Census Bureau). The River Region has some of the highest rates of chronic disease in the nation. In Montgomery, 40% of adults have high blood pressure; 13% have diabetes; and 39% are obese. Rates in the high-minority, low-income areas of the city are as high as 59% with high blood pressure, 26% with diabetes, and 52% with obesity (CDC 500 Cities Project, 2015). Rates are comparable in Autauga and Elmore and even higher in Lowndes and Macon where there is limited access to healthcare and healthy food due to their rural location. More than 50,000 of the Region’s residents are uninsured and are less likely to seek preventative care, compounding the problem. This perpetuates a vicious cycle where the uninsured are often diagnosed at later stages of chronic disease, causing a greater financial burden and higher mortality rates.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Wellness Case Management
Wellness Case Management is a service that can help you find a doctor and link you with medications and other services you need to manage a chronic disease. Your Wellness Case Manager can also help you set wellness goals and help you work to reach them.
REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health)
Funded by the CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) initiative, The Wellness Coalition is working to increase access to healthy food in neighborhoods experiencing a lack of healthy food options. We are also working with local churches and community agencies to improve access to healthcare, health insurance, and prevention and management of chronic diseases. The specific programs in place to address these community issues include community gardens, community health workers, green prescriptions, healthy corner stores, health & fitness centers, and chronic disease self-management education.
Diabetes Prevention Program
The "Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL2)" Diabetes Prevention Program can help adults take charge of their health to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Research has found that the program helps people make small lifestyle changes and cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by more than half.
CYL2 reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes and many other chronic conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure. The goal of the program is to help participants lose 5 to 7 percent of their body weight — that’s only 10 to 14 pounds for a person weighing 200 pounds — by eating healthier and being more physically active.
CYL2 meets for one year with weekly meetings for the first 4 months, and meetings twice a month for the following 8 months, to help maintain the healthy lifestyle changes. There is no cost to join a class.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Wellness Coalition helps people get the healthcare they need by working to increase the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services. TWC focuses on improving access to healthcare for persons with chronic diseases and limited or no health insurance in Central Alabama. The Coalition creates and sustains partnerships among its coalition members to solve problems for area residents with little or no health insurance.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Wellness Case Management - TWC employs Wellness Navigators who are placed in hospital emergency rooms and the TWC office to provide case management. They (1) connect clients to a primary care provider, (2) assist with health insurance enrollment, (3) help clients apply for free or low cost medication, and (4) provide chronic disease self-management education, tracking clients' wellness goals and providing counsel on nutrition, exercise, and disease management.
Chronic Disease Education - TWC offers classes to teach people how to manage their health. Classes offered are the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Diabetes Self-Management Program, and Diabetes Prevention Program. Classes are held at various times and locations to increase access for area residents.
Professional Education - TWC hosts conferences and specialty training for nurses, social workers, case managers, and other social service professionals to increase knowledge of chronic disease prevention and management.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Bringing service providers to the table to work together is the hallmark of The Wellness Coalition’s founding strategy, and the Coalition today continues its original methods of partnership and collaboration to solve community problems and improve the quality of life in the River Region. The Wellness Coalition's strengths lie in its collaborative relationships. Operating on a small staff, the Coalition uses partnerships to expand its reach into community organizations, including hospitals, clinics, social service agencies, and churches, to provide services to its target population.
The Wellness Coalition has a highly-qualified, well-trained staff with experience in providing health interventions to tackle the issues of chronic disease. Three of the Coalition's staff members are Master Trainers and six are Lay Leaders for the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program and the Diabetes Self-Management Program. Seven staff members are trained as Lifestyle Coaches for the Diabetes Prevention Program, and eleven are trained as Navigators for the Federally-facilitated Healthcare Marketplace.
The Wellness Coalition has extensive experience managing Federal grant programs, including projects through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2017-2018, The Wellness Coalition:
* Provided Wellness Case Management services to 1,967 clients, including access to a medical home, linkage to community resources, enrollment in health insurance, and chronic disease self-management education.
* Provided 3,185 chronic disease education individual sessions to teach people how to manage chronic diseases, including setting and achieving wellness goals.
* Assisted more than 720 medically uninsured patients in local emergency departments to access a medical home and to decrease their use of the ER for primary care.
* Provided 638 assists with the Federally-facilitated Health Insurance Marketplace, resulting in 46 enrollments.
* Successfully completed four years of work on REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) 2014 project, including the involvement of more than 60 partners over the life of the project.
* In the final year of the REACH project, trained 3 churches in Montgomery County to administer Living Well Alabama chronic disease self-management classes; trained 3 non-profit agencies to deliver Community Health Worker Services; and established Health Ministries at 3 churches.
* Established the River Region’s first CDC-recognized Diabetes Prevention Program and trained seven Lifestyle Coaches to deliver the program to 99 participants in the first year.
* Promoted improved wellness and access to healthcare through advertising, news, and media messages that have been viewed more than 5.6 million times by River Region residents.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
MONTGOMERY AREA COMMUNITY WELLNESS COALITION
Board of directorsas of 02/01/2019
Mr. Lou Ialacci
Montgomery County
Mr. Michael Briddell
City of Montgomery
Kimberly Edwards
AL Dept of Public Health
Tommy McKinnon
Baptist Health
Bernell Mapp
Community At-Large
Kara Watts
Community Care Network
Jennie Rhinehart
Community Hospital
Gilbert Darrington
Health Services, Inc.
Hannah Chadee
Jackson Hospital
Mary Weidler
Joint Public Charity Hospital Board
Nancy Hogan
Medical Outreach Ministries
Nancy Fitzpatrick
Mid-AL Coalition for the Homeless
Pam Hall
Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority
Connie King
Montgomery County Health Department
Terrence Jones
Community At-Large
Michelle Rotton
Community At-Large
Jessica Hudson
Community At-Large
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No