For the past 15 years, Adams has battled Type 2 diabetes, followed by congestive heart failure. He has a pacemaker, asthma, takes blood thinners to prevent clots and boasts a list of allergies he jokes is “12 miles long.” These conditions forced him to take early retirement a few years ago from his job as a cashier at Dunkin’ Donuts, but the 58-year-old from Conway, NH is determined not to let them sideline him completely.
There’s a saying that God never gives a person more than he or she can handle. Chris Adams Sr. only wishes sometimes God wouldn’t think he could handle so much.
A little over a year ago, one of Adams’ doctors recommended the Ibis Health program to help him better manage his well-being in between visits to the office. She thought it might be especially beneficial to keep him on track with the long list of medications he needs to take each day.
“I have a pretty good memory, but I do forget things sometimes, and a lot of my meds, I can’t forget because it could be dangerous,” Adams said.
An innovative chronic health management program from Senscio Systems, Ibis Health is helping to support thousands of retirees like Adams with two or more conditions to feel their best and remain independent. With a remote care team and the patented AI-powered IbisHub platform that connects members to clinical specialists in real time, Ibis Health turns the home into the first point of contact for day-to-day care. Daily medication reminders, vitals and symptom monitoring and other self-management tools create insights for timely intervention and early detection, and advocates work one-on-one with each member to set goals and provide the encouragement to achieve them. The ongoing coordinated support has allowed many members to improve their well-being and avoid unnecessary trips to the hospital, with Ibis Health users reporting a 37 percent decline in hospitalizations.
With an 80 percent adherence rate, Ibis Health members are more likely to take all their meds on time and as prescribed, a significant improvement over the 50-60 percent medication adherence rates often reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tracking his activities through the tablet keep him going and help improve his mood, despite the fatigue he often feels as a result of the congestive heart failure. He gets up early in the morning to practice martial arts, and he and his wife started visiting a local senior center where they’ve made a lot of good friends.
Adams also enjoys the relationship with Donna, his Ibis Health member advocate, who checks in on him at least once a month, or more frequently as needed. He says the positive reinforcement he receives from her, along with the encouragement of his wife, has helped him keep up with the program and his overall health has improved because of it.
With the support of Ibis Health, Adams continues to enjoy the good things in life: Spending time with his wife, watching football and staying in touch with former coworkers. And in July, he looks forward to becoming a grandpa for the second time.
"If you want to get committed [to your health] and don’t quite know how, the tablet is the best thing for you,” Adams said. “The people at Ibis Health are a unique bunch, because they genuinely care about the people in the program…I have a lot of fun talking to Donna, even though I’ll admit there are some days I just can’t bring up the energy to do it. But I’m not giving up. We need more people like you folks at Ibis.”
To learn more about Senscio Systems and its innovative Ibis Health Program visit www.sensciosystems.com and www.ibishealth.org.
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