Prevention programs increasingly prevalent

Chances are, if a person doesn’t have diabetes, then they personally know someone who does. According to a recent poll conducted by Research Now, 75% of those surveyed reported they either had diabetes or knew a diabetic.

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That makes the diabetes patient — and their caregivers — a key target demographic for retail pharmacy. Many retail pharmacy operators are instituting holistic programs that help capture and care for diabetes patients.

Hannaford Supermarkets recently teamed with Capital District YMCA and CDPHP to open the Healthy Living Center, a community-centered wellness facility located inside Hannaford Supermarkets in Albany, N.Y. The 5,277-sq.-ft. Healthy Living Center, which opened in early October, offers the community a variety of programs that support healthy living and wellness in the community — such as group exercise classes, weight management classes, nutrition seminars, personal training and senior fitness classes — as well as programs that address specific health needs, such as diabetes prevention programs.

Sam’s Club also partnered with YMCA on a diabetes-prevention program — having donated almost $1.3 million to expand a program designed to address, in part, diabetes prevention. A portion of that grant will support six new YMCAs in launching the Diabetes Prevention Program. The program, on which Sam’s Club is collaborating with the nonprofit group, is designed to help people adopt healthy eating and exercise habits, and has served about 12,000 people around the country.