ATTAIN HEALTH FOUNDATION
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : K*t@a**********h.o*g
Mission Statement
Attain Health is a patient-centered care program based in Red Lodge, Montana, that unites integrative health coaching, physical performance coaching, education, and peer support to optimize the health and education of people living with cystic fibrosis (CF). The mission of Attain Health is to bridge the gap between the the CF Clinic’s Medical Care Team and the patient by helping patients bring clinical recommendations for exercise, nutrition, diabetes management, and pulmonary treatments to fruition.
About This Cause
Attain Health was founded in 2017 by Kat Porco, Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and Mike Porco, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. In addition to their professional work and education, Kat and Mike also have a firsthand understanding of the the daily challenges of cystic fibrosis as their twelve-year-old daughter lives with CF. From 2017- 2018, Attain Health has been fiscally sponsored by the Rock CF Foundation. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, CF “is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. In people with CF, a defective gene causes a thick, sticky buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. In the lungs, the mucus clogs the airways and traps bacteria leading to infections, extensive lung damage, and eventually, respiratory failure. In the pancreas, the mucus prevents the release of digestive enzymes that allow the body to break down food and absorb vital nutrients.” More than 30,000 people in the United States are currently living with CF. Each day, people with CF spend a minimum of two hours per day to complete a combination of the following therapies: • Airway clearance to help loosen and get rid of the thick mucus that can build up in the lungs. • Inhaled medicines to open the airways, thin the mucus, or fight lung infections. • Pancreatic enzyme supplement capsules to improve the absorption of vital nutrients. To help people with CF achieve “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,” Attain Health has created five programs described below. Physical Performance Coaching: Exercise is extremely important for individuals with CF. According to the CFF, exercise promotes better overall health, improves heart, lung, and skeletal muscle function, helps eliminate mucus from airways, and improves mental health. Since 2017, Mike Porco, Attain Health strength and conditioning (S&C) coach, has worked with participants to develop an individualized and comprehensive training program. The Attain S&C coach has helped clients in the following areas: breathwork, mobility, strength training, and cardiopulmonary training. Using video conferencing software, he met with clients weekly for three months to perform an initial movement assessment, develop an individualized and comprehensive training program, and ensure that the client was completing the training program, and performing the exercises correctly. Training programs are delivered using software that allows participants to view workouts, watch videos demonstrating proper exercise form, and track their progress. Results from the 2017 pilot program were presented at the 2018 American Thoracic Society and North American Cystic Fibrosis Conferences. Integrative Health Coaching: Integrative health coaching (IHC) is a structured partnership in which the coach partners with the client to empower the individual to reach their health goals through various stages of learning and change. The word integrative reflects the coach’s training in whole-person care, patient-centeredness, mindfulness, and healthy lifestyle integration. Health coaching is utilized in mainstream medicine to help clinics achieve adherence goals and skills for enhanced health. Attain Health was founded on the positive impact that coaching holds in complex chronic disease management, “the results indicate that health coaching produces positive effects on patients’ physiological, behavioral and psychological conditions and on their social life. In particular, statistically significant results revealed increased physical activity and improved physical and mental health status. Health coaching improves the management of chronic disease. ” At the beginning of the program, each client engages in a ninety-minute 1:1 consult with Kat Porco, NBC-HWC. During this consult, the coach and the client will discuss the parameters of the program, perform vision work, create an outline of the client's goals for the program, and review the past hurdles that clients have encountered and techniques to overcome them. The clients have weekly access to the coach to maintain motivation, employ mindfulness techniques, and work toward their ultimate health goals. Results from the 2017 pilot program were presented at the 2018 American Thoracic Society and North American Cystic Fibrosis Conferences. Peer Support Groups: Cystic fibrosis is an isolating disease. Individuals with CF are advised to avoid contact with one another to minimize cross contamination and the spread of life-threatening bacteria. As a result, people with CF are often unable to meet one another. Utilizing video conferencing software, Attain Health hosts peer support groups for children, teens, and adults. Each peer support group is hosted by an Attain Health volunteer who also has cystic fibrosis. Since 2017 Attain has had over 100 participants in their peer support groups. Peer support group discussion topics include self-care, emotional wellness, disease management, life outside of CF, disease progression/transition, looking toward the future, disease disclosure with others, positive coping strategies, employing independence and relationships. Group discussions promote community and enhance positive peer engagement. Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes Education: Cystic fibrosis related diabetes (CFRD) is the most common comorbidity in CF. People with CFRD often have little understanding of the disease, and subsequently fail to adequately manage it. To address this issue, in 2019, Attain Health will be offering an inhome,telehealth based CFRD education program lead by Kat Porco, a Certified Diabetes Educator. This will be available as a partnership program between the client’s care team and Attain Health. “As health care providers, we need to be keenly aware of the repercussions of the development of CFRD. CF involves several hours of medication administration and physical therapy daily. The addition of another labor intensive chronic disease may be devastating.” The goal of the program is to significantly increase CFRD awareness and education through a hands-on approach to disease empowerment. This will be done through an initial webinar covering the pathophysiology of CFRD, the 12-week program will follow the AADE format for diabetes education, including weekly tips and applicable tools, as well as opportunities to engage with peers for support, motivation, and accountability. Attain Health’s home-based CFRD Education program has numerous benefits: 1) Clients are able to engage from their home environment, eliminating their need to travel for education; 2) They receive a glucometer and access to real-time data, blood sugar and food tracking free of charge for the duration of the program; 3) They are able to develop a peer group to encourage motivation and accountability; 4) With video conferencing and health technology home-based programs can provide daily motivation, and provide the ability for patients to interact with each other. Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Cystic Fibrosis progressively deteriorates the lungs. With advanced CF, lung function is so compromised that the only option is a double lung transplant. Prior to transplant, candidates are required to attend pulmonary rehabilitation, typically in an outpatient facility. In 2019, Attain Health will build upon the current Physical Performance Coaching platform by offering a telehealth based pulmonary rehab program that will help participants achieve their best vision of health. A telehealth platform and home-base pulmonary rehab has several advantages over traditional outpatient pulmonary rehab: 1) It eliminates patients’ fears of cross-contamination; 2) It eliminates the need for patients to travel to another facility; 3) It can be integrated into daily respiratory treatments 4) It eliminates additional patient expenditures associated with exercise/ rehab facilities. 5) With video conferencing and exercise software, home-based programs can provide daily motivation, and provide the ability for patients to interact with each other. The Pulmonary Rehab Program will include targeted training and tracking protocol, peer accountability, and weekly educational webinars led by cystic fibrosis professionals. This program will specifically address the individuals who have pulmonary functions indicating they are candidates for double lung transplants. Attain Health’s goal is to significantly increase lung function in individuals who are severely compromised.