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Health Management

GHC-SCW is committed to helping keep you healthy as well as help you learn how to manage key aspects of chronic disease. We have programs and services available to not only keep you well but can also help manage your chronic conditions and improve your safety. We work to provide you with resources that can improve all factors associated with your health and well-being. 

If you meet clinical criteria, we do not take any action to exclude you from services or programs that you may benefit from. If you desire, you may choose to opt-out of any service.​ To do so, follow the instructions in the message you received and contact ​your GHC-SCW Care Team or the Quality Management Department by emailing QManagement@ghcscw.com or by phone at
(608) 662-4903. ​​To support you, the health plan and your Care Team may send you periodic mailings or secure GHCMyChart messages to remind you of tests or services that you are due for. 

​A list of routine clinical and health plan outreach activities can be found here.

Virtual Diabetes Support Group

Do you sometimes struggle with doing all of the things you need to do to manage your diabetes?  Would you like to learn strategies that can help and talk to others who are experience similar challenges?  The GHC-SCW Virtual Diabetes Support Group might be what you are looking for!  Learn from diabetes care providers at GHC-SCW, as well as from others living with diabetes – even from the comfort of your own home! Sign up for the GHC Virtual Diabetes Support Group! Learn more HERE.

​Asthma and COPD​ If you have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), breathing is not as easy as it should be. Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It is common in children, but adults can develop asthma, too. If you have asthma, you have it all the time. You will have asthma attacks only when something bothers your lungs. Attacks cause wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and feeling breathless. COPD is a group of lung diseases characterized by limited airflow with different degrees of lung tissue destruction. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common forms of COPD. We Can Help With Asthma and COPD We can help you learn how to manage your asthma and limit the frequency of attacks. We will work with you to create a plan to control for asthma or COPD. We offer individual consults with an Asthma Educator at each of these GHC-SCW Locations Capitol Clinic East Clinic Hatchery Hill Clinic Sauk Clinic What to Expect Your first visit with the Asthma Educator will be 60 minutes in length. This allows us time to understand your current health needs and answer any questions you may have. We will work with you to find a plan that controls your symptoms and fits in with your life. Other GHC Resources  Clinical Pharmacists – Our pharmacy staff can help answer questions you may have about your medications and how they can affect your disease. Healthwise – Log into your GHCMyChart account, and under Resources, click Healthwise Home.  Here you can search for information related to your unique medical needs, including asthma. Community Resources ​​The University of Wisconsin conducts research to learn more about asthma and better treat patients.  For information about current studies, click h​e​re​. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) publishes information about asthma that may be helpful for you.  To visit their website, click here.  Check out these tips for traveling with asthma here and breathe easy while away from home.  Contact Us Call any GHC-SCW clinic and request an appointment. If you have never seen an Asthma Educator, your Primary Care Provider will be notified of your request for a visit. Chronic Pain   Living with pain is difficult. Treating the emotional strain of persistent pain can help you manage your pain better and can benefit your overall health and well-being. Our class uses a group setting to teach mindfulness strategies, as well as cognitive and behavioral skills, intended to help you cope with pain, while gaining the support in knowing that you are not alone.   ​ We Can Help You with our Chronic Pain Group Sessions-- “The Mindful Road – Coping Skills for Chronic Pain”  We can help you learn how to manage your chronic pain with a 6-week program where you will learn a variety of topics, that include: self-care tips, cognitive-behavioral strategies and mindfulness techniques. We will encourage participants to create personal goals and help y​ou to create a coordinated care plan. We offer this program in 3-week sessions throughout the​ year.  Click here to learn more about this program. Cost In general, this group is covered by insurance. Some benefit plans may require a co-payment, deductible or co-insurance. For benefit questions please call our Member Services Department at (608)828-4853 or toll free at ​​(800)605-4327, and request to speak with Member Services.    Registration This class is offered to members who receive primary care services at one of our 6 main GHC clinics. Talk with your primary care provider to decide if this class is right for you,  or call (608) 441-3290 to schedule a pre-group screening interview with one of Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultants.

​Diabetes ​​ Diabetes​ is a group of diseases that results in too much sugar in the blood.  The most common types of diabetes are:  Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the way the body processes blood sugar.  Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin.  Prediabetes is a condition characterized by elevated blood sugar, but it is not high enough to be considered diabetes.  Gestational diabetes is a form of high blood sugar affecting pregnant people.​  If you have been living with diabetes for a long time or if you have just been diagnosed, you know that managing diabetes can be hard work.  GHC will work with you to help you make sure you understand how the disease affects you, how to manage it, and what resources are available to help you.  Community Resources  The Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging (WIHA) offers classes for living with chronic conditions and health living with diabetes. Click here to visit the WIHA website.   Our Resources  Dietitians – Our staff will work with you to not only educate you about how nutrition can affect your diabetes, but they can offer tips about positive, sustainable changes you can make to best manage your condition.  Diabetes Educators – Our nurse educators will meet with you individually to help ensure that you understand the basics of diabetes.  They are experts in the disease and can help direct you toward other resources that might be helpful for you, including classes, community resources, and informational materials.  Clinical Pharmacists – Our pharmacy staff can help answer questions you may have about your medications and how they can affect your disease.  Healthwise – Log into your GHCMyChart account, and under Resources, click Healthwise Home.  Here you can search for information related to your unique medical needs, including diabetes.   If you have questions about which services are located near you, ask your PCP or call Member Services at (608) 605-4327. To make an appointment with a Dietitian or Diabetes Educator, call your local clinic. Educational items  A1c testing – This is a simple blood test that measures whether you have diabetes and how well-controlled your diabetes is.  It is important to have your A1c level tested at least twice (2) each year.  Vision testing – Diabetes can produce a complication called diabetic retinopathy, which is caused by damage to the blood vessels at the back of the eye.  Uncontrolled diabetes can hurt your eyesight, so it is important to visit your eye doctor one time each year.  Finding and treating diabetic retinopathy can help prevent vision problems such as floaters, blurriness, and even blindness.  Neuropathy – Diabetic neuropathy is a serious side effect of diabetes that causes nerve damage, and in serious cases, amputation or even death.  It mostly affects the legs and feet, but it can affect other areas of the body as well.  Your provider will evaluate you to determine whether you have neuropathy.  Make sure you see your provider on a regular basis to manage your diabetes care.  ​​ Diabetic Friendly Recipes   ​​Veggies on the Grill  Lemon Chicken and Vegetable Kebabs​ Lemony White Bean and Arugula Salad Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Marinades for Grilled Meats​ Self-Management Behaviors  The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) recognizes 7 different behaviors that diabetics can follow to maintain their health. For more information, you can click here to visit the AADE website for this helpful information in both English and Spanish.  Prediabetes ​YMCA offers a diabetes prevention program (DPP). Certain individuals who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes by their primary care physician (PCP) may have insurance coverage for the full cost of the YMCA’s DPP Program through GHC-SCW if they meet certain preventive services guidelines. Other individuals may also qualify for insurance coverage, subject to cost-sharing responsibility, for the YMCA’s DPP Program. The DPP is a program with 25 one-hour long sessions over the course of a year designed to reduce your risk of developing Type II Diabetes. Click here​ to view the program information.

Hypertension

Hypertension, also known​ as high blood pressure, is when the force of the blood flowing through your blood vessels is consistently too high. When blood pressure is too high, it can damage your blood vessels, heart, and kidneys. This can ultimately lead to heart attack, stroke, and other problems. Hypertension is known as a “silent killer," because it doesn't usually cause symptoms while it is causing damage.

What is Blood Pressure (BP)?

The amount of force blood pushes against the walls of your blood vessels. Blood pressure is the result of two forces:

1. ​Systolic pressure: when the heart pumps blood out into the body
2. Diastolic pressure: when the heart rests between beats​
   
   

 

Making Changes

Hypertension is a manageable condition. You can do many things to minimize your health risk. Three things you absolutely must do to control your hypertension include:

1. ​See your provider regularly – Once hypertension has been diagnosed, it is important to have your condition monitored to ensure your blood pressure remains at a healthy level. 

Additional GHC-SCW Resources

• ​Nursing staff – Our GHC-SCW nurses can meet with you one-on-one to help make sure that you understand the basics of hypertension and important signs and symptoms to watch for. Blood pressure appointments with nursing staff are available at $0 copay for members.
• Clinical pharmacists – Our pharmacy staff can help answer questions you have about your medications, take your blood pressure, and make medication adjustments as appropriate. Blood pressure checks with pharmacy staff are available on a walk-in basis at $0 copay for members.
• Dietitians – Our staff can help you better understand how nutrition can affect your blood pressure numbers. 

There are several extra steps you can take to lower your blood pressure naturally. Keep in mind that taking these steps is not an alternative to seeing your provider:

• What Can I Do to Improve My Blood Pressure?
  
• Non-Drug Ways to Lower Blood Pressure -  Your provider or dietician may recommend that you follow the DASH diet. Read this article to learn more. ​

State of Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund (State of Wisconsin Group Health Insurance Program)
Chronic Condition Management Services

Services are available to State of Wisconsin Group Health Insurance Program members who have diabetes, asthma, COPD, CHF, or CAD regardless of whether they are considered low, moderate, or high risk.

For more information click here.

Questions, contact GHC-SCW Member Services by calling (608) 828-4853 or (800) 605-4327. 

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