A Broader Approach to Serving the Community
Through the years, Main Line Health’s acute care hospitals each worked independently to offer programs they determined were best suited to address the needs of patients and neighbors. However, Main Line Health saw a way to step up its game.
“We figured we could make a bigger impact if we were all working together in a Systemwide approach,” said Deborah Mantegna, System Director of Community Health and Outreach for Main Line Health. “We shifted our focus and began breaking out of silos to better meet community needs.”
The transition began in 2018 and continued with Deborah's appointment in 2021. Dividends from the new focus soon began to flow, including robust programs offering preventive cancer screenings, fall prevention education, cardiac risk assessments and other programs.
Main Line Health also poured resources into reducing the chance of falls occurring in the hospital. Its performance in fall reduction metrics has increased to rank among the nation’s best. Barbara Wadsworth, Executive Vice President and COO, also a veteran nurse, invented a device to prevent injury or death in the case of a fall. Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, part of Main Line Health, is working to develop her invention.
In 2023, Rosangely Cruz-Rojas, DrPH, was named Main Line Health’s first Chief Diversity and Equity Officer with Deborah reporting to her. The appointment raised the focus on Community Health and Outreach even further.
The team worked strenuously during the pandemic in 2020 to turn the obstacles of the nationwide shutdown into a chance for positive change, delivering improvements with staying power. When in-person seminars, community health fairs and presentations at senior centers stopped, virtual sessions began. Those programs have created increased access and are now a staple of Community Health and Outreach efforts.
“One success story is our breast cancer support group,” Deborah said. “The group met in person pre-COVID and in April 2020 immediately went online. In May 2023, we decided to make it hybrid. Before, only people nearby could attend. Now you can attend regardless of where you live. Also, when you’re undergoing treatment, sometimes you don’t want to come in person for a meeting. Now you can come in if you feel up to it or participate from home if you don’t.”
As the Systemwide approach grows, various campuses continue to provide their own vibrant programs tailored to their resources and community. Among the highlights:
- The Deaver Health Education Center and Deaver Wellness Farm at Lankenau Medical Center provide free health education programming to local school districts. The Deaver Health Education Center and Farm offer over 21 Pennsylvania-curriculum-based programs to all schools in the surrounding counties. Since 1994, it has provided education to over 275,000 school students, in-person or virtual, free of charge and with free transportation for schools receiving Title I federal funding for low-income students.
- A Matter of Balance is an evidence-based program at Bryn Mawr Hospital for older adults that explores concerns about falling, the value of exercise, fall prevention and assertiveness. It is an award-winning, nine-session program offered in-person and virtually.
- The PreventT2 Lifestyle Change Program at Main Line Health King of Prussia is geared toward those diagnosed with prediabetes or other risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, helping them take charge of their health and make a change. The program is part of the National Diabetes Prevention Program and features an approach proven to prevent or delay the disease.
- A comprehensive nicotine dependence treatment program is offered at Riddle Hospital. Funded by the state since 2002, it offers group and individual cessation programs. Programs are offered free of charge for patients in Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties. Participants may qualify for free Nicotine Replacement Therapy.