GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A West Michigan hospital is celebrating a major milestone. It's been one year since Spectrum Health launched it's STR!VE program which now has 1,000 members and growing.
Health experts say the program is a way to make it easier for people to be healthy and stay well and both health experts and patients say the program is life-changing.
According to the CDC, 80 percent of people who have a heart attack or a stroke could have prevented it by changing their lifestyle. That is why Spectrum launched the program last July inside the Waters Center in Grand Rapids.
The program focuses on prevention by addressing the root cause of disease with strategies in nutrition, exercise and stress management. STR!VE providers get to know you as a patient and person, assessing all aspects that impact your health and that includes health history, nutrition, behaviors, and genetics.
STR!VE providers work with members to identify the behaviors within their control to improve health and well-being and offer ongoing support.
"STR!VE at its core is a primary care physicians office that is trying to bring in a new emphasis on providing wellness care in addition to disease management," said the Clinical Director at STR!VE, Christine Khamis.
Experts say the first steps to success are proper nutrition, daily movement, and managing stress.
We spoke to a patient who has already lost nearly 60 pounds in just the last few months.
"I have actually lost so far 55 pounds, I have more to go I started at 342 pounds down to in the 280's continuing to go I have more to go but I actually have lost quite a bit since the beginning of February since I started that journey," said Aaron Silver, a STR!VE patient. "We met weekly, talked about diet, what food does, the science behind it, as well as your genetics, all sorts of cool places to go out to eat and actually have healthy options," Silver said. "It was a lot of information to kind of take in and it really helped me kind of change how I eat and how I live my life."
The program costs about $160 a year to join. For more information, click here.
