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At their Thursday meeting, members of the West Point Rotary Club heard a presentation from the general manager of the Reach7 Studio about an alternative approach they are offering in the treatment of diabetes.  The Reach7 Diabetes Studio is located in the Midland Commons in Columbus and is helping people cope with a chronic disease that affects nearly 40 million Americans, or roughly 12 percent of the total U.S. population. Between 90 and 95 percent of those who have been diagnosed with diabetes have Type 2. Type 1 diabetes affects between 5 and 10 percent of those with diabetes.

Tim Eggena has been in healthcare management for some 35 years. He told the Rotarians that Reach7 helps people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, pre-diabetes and those who are carrying extra weight.

Reach7 includes endocrinologists, diabetologists, health practitioners, registered dietitians and behavioral health coaches all of whom have true compassion with those with diabetes and their journey. “The Reach7 team is highly trained and certified in the latest tools, technologies and techniques to deliver the best results they can for anyone with diabetes,” Eggena said.

What Reach7 is doing started with a control group of veterans, all of whom had uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes. The 90-day average of their A1Cs was above 8. Through a combination of in-depth consultations, day-to-day monitoring, medication optimization and nutrition therapy and coaching, some impressive results were seen over a 90-day period. The glucose levels of everyone in the control group came down to controllable levels.

“They were studied for 52 weeks and the results were very good,” Eggena said.

With the in-depth consultations, Reach7 professionals spend time listening to you and your needs before developing comprehensive, achievable plans for your health goals. The day-to-day monitoring involves checking glucose levels, weight and daily habits to help see what’s going on at home or at work to see that the needle can be moved together. The Reach7 team members are certified and trained in all the latest medications and insulin pumps to help you get what you truly need while saving money on your prescriptions,

“We use food and hydration as medicine to support your goals naturally as well,” Eggena said. “We also guide you on sleep, movement and stress management.”

Some doctors are reluctant to get involved with what Reach7 is trying to do. “Physicians have to go through some rigorous rules to get paid,” he said. “They are reluctant to adapt to our technology.”

Many doctors, he said, are into sick care, which is reactive and episodic. “This doesn’t work well with chronic care management like diabetes,” Eggena said. “It needs to be more fluid. We came to the conclusion that diabetes wasn’t being properly taken care of. We want to render health care, not sick care.”

The Reach7 clinic in Columbus operates without insurance. “We don’t want to be monitored by regulations,” Eggena said. “Our goal is to open five clinics. The first one is now open run Midland Commons, and we are looking at a second one in Sharpsburg. The message we are trying to get out to groups we speak to is that our healthcare system is broken.”

Eggena said the recent murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4th in New York City may have dramatized this. United is the largest health insurer in the U.S. with more than 50 million customers.

Whether or not frustration with the health insurance system was a factor in this, Eggena said that his organization is trying to evoke thoughts on what direction this needs to be heading in. “How can we solve this?” he asked. “One positive way is to hold insurance companies liable,” he said. “Another option could be to seek out ways that aren’t covered by insurance. We are trying to create awareness of this. People need to ask themselves if their health insurance providers are offering them the best coverage they can. We are not trying to make money. We are trying to provide health care.”

For more information on Reach7 and what it’s doing go to www.reach7.studio.com.