Off The Scale’s Behavior Change Intervention Exp

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After a one year deployment of Off The Scale Health’ s (OTS) Behavior Change Intervention at Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS), the System is moving ahead to expand the program offering to additional employees across its seven hospital system. In NYC, over 50 percent of the population lives with one or more chronic health conditions - such as obesity, diabetes and depression.  OTS focuses on reversing these lifestyle-driven conditions by encouraging healthy eating habits, proper sleep hygiene, increasing exercise and helping participants to cope effectively with life’s stressors.

MSHS and OTS leadership worked collaboratively to deploy the OTS Chronic Disease intervention platform to a cohort of 120 MSHS employees in the original trial.

As a result of the enrollment, engagement, satisfaction and initial health outcomes from the intervention, MSHS is extending its relationship with OTS to provide this wellness offering to additional employees.

“For the past 12 months, our wellness leadership group has worked closely with a dedicated team from Off The Scale,” said Abby Schwartz RN, MBA, Director of Diabetes Alliance and Wellness at MSHS.  ”We have seen first-hand the success of the intervention for our employees.”

“We look forward to extending the OTS program and gathering additional outcome data to evaluate efficacy,” said Jane Maksoud, RN, MPA, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at MSHS.

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States as reported by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with more than 75% of all health care costs attributed to chronic conditions. Four of the five most expensive health conditions are chronic diseases attributable to lifestyle behaviors that can be modified to lower healthcare costs.

“We are delighted with the significant health improvements enjoyed not just by MSHS employees, but also by their families and wider communities who benefited from the ripple effect of our Interventions” said Off The Scale’s Co-Founder & President Ashley John Heather. “Off The Scale’s unique hybrid model of combining the latest digital health technology with in-person group meetings is proven to reverse the progression of lifestyle-driven chronic diseases and importantly shows long term sustainable lifestyle behavior change.”

MSHS is establishing a new standard surrounding wellness and disease management services for their employees and faculty by incorporating tools that combat life-style driven chronic disease like, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Their offerings include individualized as well as team based programs like Off The Scale.

About Off The Scale To learn more about OTS’s efficacy and results, email outcomes@offthescale.com. Off The Scale was established in New York in 2014 by a team of healthcare, engagement, and technology executives.  Their goal was to dramatically reduce the cost burden associated with global obesity and other chronic diseases.  The Off The Scale Behavior Change Intervention (BCI) is delivered through a multichannel platform, combining in person sessions, online community tools and mobile applications. The OTS platform delivers structured physical activity, nutritional education and lifestyle change action planning to maximize engagement, maintain long term participation and strong outcomes. This hybrid method makes it possible for substantial numbers of patients, employees and community residents to reverse their chronic condition. For more information visit www.offthescale.com .

About the Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to provide the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report ’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in four other specialties in the 2017-2018 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in six out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology and 50th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org , or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Press Contact: Valerie Harding Ripple Effect Communications Tel: 617-536-8887 valerie@rippleeffectpr.com www.rippleeffectpr.com