One Year Later, Spectrum Health’s STR!VE Makes Strides

Grand Rapids, Mich, July 10, 2018 – As Spectrum Health marks the first year of STR!VE, its innovative primary care offering, many insights have emerged regarding consumer preferences for care. With more than 1,000 members, STR!VE is designed to make it easy to be healthy and stay well with a member fee of $159 a year. STR!VE opened last July at 161 Ottawa Ave. NW at the Waters Center.

As health care becomes increasingly consumer-driven, findings from STR!VE’s inaugural year indicate five of the most valued aspects of membership: lifestyle medicine approach, scientific wellness, ongoing wellness education, partnerships and employee benefit.

A lifestyle medicine approach to primary care focuses on prevention by addressing the root cause of disease. STR!VE providers work with members to identify the behaviors within their control to improve health and well-being and offer ongoing support. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lifestyle modifications would prevent 80 percent of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

“Proper nutrition, daily movement and managing stress are integral to the member’s personalized plan.” says Erica Armstrong, MD, STR!VE physician. “We talk with members about food first because it truly fuels physical and mental well-being. Taking into consideration health history, biomarkers and genetics, we have the information we need to make meaningful improvements.”

Making decisions based on lifestyle and biological data is the future of personalized medicine. Through a partnership with Seattle-based Arivale, STR!VE members who join the Arivale Scientific Wellness® program are discovering what it means to optimize their wellness.

Arivale combines personalized data with tailored coaching from Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and Registered Nurses to create customized action plans in collaboration with the member’s STR!VE provider. Plans and coaching set realistic, achievable goals and provide much needed support and accountability to help ensure success.

Ongoing wellness education and partnerships with 17 organizations have resulted in over 50 STR!VE Be Well events to date. Members attend the complimentary sessions featuring STR!VE providers, Spectrum Health experts or partners with topics that range from a plant-based diet and well-stocked pantry to fitness demonstrations that literally get members moving. Events are held in STR!VE’s spacious lobby or at one of the partner’s locations.

This type of engagement is critical for individuals as well as employers who are looking for ways to not only lower the cost of health care, but also attract and retain talent. Group rates give area businesses the incentive to offer STR!VE memberships as an employee benefit. Better access to primary care services means fewer visits to the emergency room or urgent care which is typically costlier to staff and equip for higher-acuity patients.

“Educating employees, helping them identify key areas to optimize given their unique biochemistry, and having accountability with their provider empowers them to take charge of their own health and well-being,” says Holly Sullivan, director, strategic partnerships, Spectrum Health. “The shift from traditional workplace wellness to everyday health and wellness is a business driver that we’d like to partner on with employers.”

STR!VE offers members the ability to self-schedule same or next day appointments to see a provider weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. via a MyHealth account and walk-in service for labs, immunizations and allergy shots (no appointment necessary), eVisits and 24/7 virtual and telemedicine services through MedNow.

 

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People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people—including more than 11,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,000 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

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