Price Chopper Named Nat’l Partner in Diabetes Project
Price Chopper Supermarkets’ pharmacy operation in Schenectady, N.Y. has been chosen as one of 25 nationwide, as well as the only one from New York state, to take part in the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation’s “Project IMPACT: Diabetes,” a nationwide multiyear initiative to enhance treatment for people disproportionately affected by diabetes across the country.
Price Chopper Pharmacy will be the lead organization for the Schenectady County Community in Project IMPACT: Diabetes. The grocer has already developed such comprehensive, patient-centered diabetes care programs as its signature Diabetes AdvantEdge and HealthyU Diabetes Education efforts, which have saved consumers more than $2 million since their introduction in 2010. Price Chopper additionally offers NuVal, a point-of-purchase nutritional system that scores virtually all products in the store from 1 to 100, with the higher the score, the higher the nutrition.
Through Project IMPACT: Diabetes, Price Chopper Pharmacy will team with Capital District Physician’s Health Plan (CDPHP) to expand these programs and improve access to care for patients who suffer disproportionately from the condition. The aim of the program is to increase the percentage of patients who meet composite Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures and to improve patient outcomes in blood pressure, cholesterol and hemoglobin A1c through pharmacist-delivered education and training. U.S. health plans use HEDIS measurements to gauge performance regarding key dimensions of care and service. Alisha I. Roberts, the pharmacist who oversees all of Price Chopper’s clinical pharmacy programs, will be the program’s “Community Champion.”
Project IMPACT: Diabetes will fully integrate pharmacists into health care teams as a way to tackle some of the challenges faced by diabetics. The three-year initiative will furnish selected communities with knowledge, tools and implementation resources to create a unique interdisciplinary model enabling the inclusion of pharmacists in diabetes care.
“Diabetes care is a priority at Price Chopper,” said Vincent Mainella, VP of pharmacy at the Schenectady-based chain. “We recognize that our stores are a bona fide destination for patients seeking the prescriptions, accessories, fresh foods and nutritional information needed to help them manage their diabetes.” According to Mainella, “[T]he collaboration of pharmacists, prescribers and patients will lead to better overall outcomes.”
“In addition to serving residents in the Schenectady area for more than 25 years, CDPHP has also recently expanded its Enhanced Primary Care project to include three Schenectady physician practices,” said Eileen Wood, VP of pharmacy and health quality programs for the Albany, N.Y.-based plan. “CDPHP believes that the combination of pharmacists engaging patients and further supporting primary care innovation will truly bring health value to the community.
In November 2010, APhA Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit, was selected as one of four initial grantees in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s Together on Diabetes: Communities Uniting to Meet America’s Diabetes Challenge. The $100 million initiative is the largest corporate philanthropic commitment so far to combat diabetes in the United States.
The Golub Corp. owns and operates 128 Price Chopper grocery stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Golub’s more than 24,000 teammates collectively own 52 percent of the company’s privately held stock, making it one of the nation’s largest privately held corporations that is predominantly employee-owned.