WISEWOMAN Program Locations
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC)

Background: Since 2000, SEARHC’s Community Health Services Division has been funded as a standard project.

Lifestyle Iintervention: Integrated program staff offer WISEWOMAN participants risk reduction counseling at the time of screening using Ultra-Brief Personal Action Planning. Then, women are offered an opportunity to participate in a menu of intervention options. Women are encouraged to attend a variety of nutrition, tobacco, and physical activity interventions, based on their risk and motivation. Participants are also linked to community-based activities through community-specific resource guides.

Screening: Screening includes blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and other lipids testing as well as assessing weight, medical history, tobacco use, eating habits, and physical inactivity.

Sites: SEARHC provides Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program services and WISEWOMAN screening and lifestyle intervention services to eighteen tribes throughout fourteen clinics.

Key Partners: Take Heart Alaska Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) coalition, Tobacco Control and Prevention, Diabetes Prevention Program, and numerous community organizations and individuals.

For more information about the SEARHC WISEWOMAN program, contact: Litia Garrison Interim WISEWOMAN Program Director Phone: (907) 966–8743 E–mail: Litia.garrison@searhc.org Martha Pearson WISEWOMAN Program Coordinator Phone: (907) 966-8783 E-mail: marthap@searhc.org Check out SEARHC's WISEWOMAN program on the Internet at: http://www.searhc.org/

Program Highlights

Direct Services

• The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) WISEWOMAN program provides WISEWOMAN services in 16 clinics. The program conducted 875 screenings during the 2009–2010 reporting period, which represented 88% of its screening goal.¹
• The SEARHC WISEWOMAN program conducted 862 lifestyle intervention sessions during the 2009–2010 reporting period.

Partnerships

• The SEARHC's partnership with the State of Alaska Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention coalition, Take Heart Alaska, resulted in the development of a "Know Your Numbers" card featuring cardiovascular risk factors, level of physical activity, and fruit and vegetable intake measures. This wallet-sized card was developed for use by the WISEWOMAN program, senior centers, fire stations, and community partners that host health fairs. The cards are a vehicle for individuals to track their risk factors and also get the information to their provider at the next visit.

Evaluation

• The SEARHC produces twice-yearly Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reports as a way to communicate program accomplishments and needs to the medical director and chief operations officer. KPIs show the screening rates per site, timeliness of cardiovascular disease labs, the degree of integration between Breast and Cervical Health Program (BCHP) and WISEWOMAN screening visits, and the percentage of women who have attended at least one lifestyle intervention session. The program also garnered support for integrating the BCHP and WISEWOMAN programs under one Director and for promoting the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) and Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (ATP III) guidelines.

Reference

1. Data are reported from the preliminary WISEWOMAN Minimum Data Elements report (October 2010). Screening includes any WISEWOMAN-funded screening (blood pressure, cholesterol, or diabetes) provided from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. Lifestyle interventions refer to the number of lifestyle intervention sessions conducted from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010.