The Wellness Referral Center Celebrates 2 Years!

The Wellness Referral Center, one of Adelante’s newest community resources, celebrated its 2nd Anniversary on January 13, 2018. The Wellness Referral Center is operated through Adelante’s contact center, and it is part of a larger initiative called Healthy Here working to reduce rates of chronic disease such as diabetes and heart disease, especially in Albuquerque’s South Valley and International District. The Wellness Referral Center connects the health care system and resources that promote wellness, recognizing that a majority of health outcomes happen outside a doctor’s office with the decisions people make every day about what they eat, how much they exercise, and other determinants of good health. The process begins when clinic providers such as doctors “prescribe” a healthy cooking class or a fitness class to their patients. That prescription is sent to the Wellness Referral Center agents who then contact the patient and get them registered into classes or activities that will help them become or stay healthy. In the two years since its inception, the Wellness Referral Center has processed over 2,100 referrals.

This project would not be possible without our generous community supporters including Presbyterian Health Care and the Presbyterian Foundation.  A grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Families program is allowing Adelante to increase the number of children served through the Wellness Referral Center. And, as a result of the success we’ve found in the Albuquerque area, these wellness connections will be expanding into Valencia County and Clovis this year. Adelante appreciates our funders as well as the staff in our contact center who make this resource possible for our community.