After Nojaim’s Closing, St. Joseph’s Health Partners With Mobile Market

Syracuse, NY (October 26, 2017) – St. Joseph’s Health is expanding its support and its health service in the Near Westside neighborhood of Syracuse.

There has been much public discussion about the lack of access to healthy foods with the closing of Nojaim Brothers Supermarket earlier this month. Many Near Westside residents also went to Nojaim’s to redeem food coupons as part of St. Joseph’s Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) programthrough its Primary Care Center-West location.

St Joseph’s is now working with the locally-owned Mobile Market food truck to not only continue, but expand access to healthy foods and a healthy lifestyle on the Near Westside. This is a continuation of the initial program that St. Joseph’s launched in 2016 in partnership with The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at The Maxwell School at Syracuse University and Nojaim Brothers Supermarket, with funding through a grant from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. The Excellus grant expired in June 2017, and Trinity Health’s Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is now providing the funding for a portion of this initiative. Additional program funds are provided through a competitive grant award that St. Joseph’s Health Foundation received from Wholesome Wave, a national nonprofit working to help low-income Americans afford fruits and vegetables.

“Diabetes is a serious health problem. It can lead to heart and kidney disease, loss of vision and amputation,” said Lisa Yarah, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Certified Diabetes Educator for St. Joseph’s Health Primary Care Services. “Many studies show that with good management, complications can be significantly decreased and delayed. That is why we launched our Diabetes Self-Management Education program, and why we are so glad to be able to continue to offer access to healthy food options on the Near Westside.”

“There is a huge need for healthy food in this neighborhood,” said Diane Turner, owner of Mobile Market. “The partnership with St. Joseph’s Health is one of many that I’m pursuing to help bring health food to this community.”

As part of St. Joseph's DSME program, patients meet monthly to learn about good diabetes control and how to attain it, with personal support from a dietitian to help make lifestyle changes. Each course lasts for a year, and includes both one-on-one as well as group sessions. The Mobile Market arrives at St. Joseph’s Primary Care Center-West after each session and stays for an hour.

Patients have shared that the St. Joseph’s diabetes management program makes a big difference in their health and quality of life. Many are excited about the new partnership with the Mobile Market, and have said they are glad St. Joseph’s ensured participants would continue to be able to get access to these foods through the program.

St. Joseph's DSME program is recognized by the American Association of Diabetes Educators for quality self-management education. The program is covered by Medicare, and private insurance coverage varies by plan and services provided. For more information, visit www.sjhsyr.org/programs/diabetes.

About St. Joseph’s Health

St. Joseph’s Health is a non-profit regional health care system based in Syracuse, N.Y., providing services to patients throughout Central New York and northern Pennsylvania. From primary to specialty to home care, to our Magnet-recognized hospital, and in collaboration with our community partners, St. Joseph's Health is advancing the health of the communities we serve through an expanding range of healthcare services to ensure our patients achieve optimum long-term health. Ranked by Consumer Reports among the top 15 heart surgery centers in the country, U.S. News “Best Regional Hospital” and a 15-time winner of the National Research Corporation Consumer Choice award, St. Joseph’s is widely recognized for quality, value and delivering the highest patient satisfaction. St. Joseph’s Health is affiliated with Franciscan Companies and St. Joseph’s Physicians and is a member of Trinity Health.

About the Transforming Communities Initiative

Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a collaborative funding and technical assistance initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients work to support evidence-based, innovative solutions for policy, systems and environmental changes to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living and address social determinants that impact current and future health outcomes. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, and technical resources to improve community health at the local level. More information is available at www.tcisyracuse.org.