ImageboxPittsburgh MercyLeft ArrowRight ArrowArrow RightCloseContactContactMenuPhone IconSearchFacebookGoogle +InstagramLinkedInPinterestTwitterYouTube
Skip to Main Content
close
Language:
Font Size:
- + Reset
Menu Contact
Close
  • Our Services
    • Behavioral Health
      • About Pittsburgh Mercy Behavioral Health
      • Services for Adults
      • Services for Children & Adolescents
      • Mental Health Rehabilitation & Recovery Services
      • Mental Health Residential Services
    • Addiction Services
      • About Pittsburgh Mercy Addiction Services
      • Services for Adults
      • Services for Children & Adolescents
    • Intellectual Disabilities
      • About Pittsburgh Mercy Intellectual Disabilities Services
      • Day Support & Community Participation Services
      • Residential Services for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
      • Unlicensed Home & Community Services
      • Employment Services
      • Contact
    • Physical Health
      • About Pittsburgh Mercy Family Health Center
      • Our Services
      • Locations & Hours
      • Getting Here
      • Insurances
      • Your Care Team
      • Pharmacy Services
    • Intervention Services
    • Homeless Services
      • About Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net
      • Street Outreach
      • Winter Shelter
      • Housing & Care Management
      • Physical Health
      • Project HELP
      • Student Placement Opportunities & Street Medicine Fellowship
      • Awards & Accolades
      • How You Can Help
      • Bethlehem Haven
    • Veterans Services
    • Faith Communities
      • About the Pittsburgh Mercy Parish Nurse & Health Ministry Program
      • About Faith Community Nursing & Health Ministry
      • Education for Faith Communities
      • Resources for Faith Communities
  • Your Care
  • Engage
  • Give
  • Our Organization
    • Home
    • About
    • Careers
      • Administration
      • Behavioral Health Services
      • Medical
      • Nursing
      • Professional & Management
    • Training
    • Events
    • News
      • Stories Of Hope
    • Contact Us
Close
  • Need Help? Call us.
  • Send us a Message

Pittsburgh Mercy
1200 Reedsdale Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2109 USA

Call 1-877-637-2924

Email info@pittsburghmercy.org

Pittsburgh Mercy

Need Help? Call us.

1-877-637-2924

Send us a Message

  • Home
  • About
  • Careers
    • Administration
    • Behavioral Health Services
    • Medical
    • Nursing
    • Professional & Management
  • Training
  • Events
  • News
    • Stories Of Hope
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Your Care
  • Engage
  • Give
  • Behavioral Health
    • About Pittsburgh Mercy Behavioral Health
    • Services for Adults
    • Services for Children & Adolescents
    • Mental Health Rehabilitation & Recovery Services
    • Mental Health Residential Services
  • Addiction Services
    • About Pittsburgh Mercy Addiction Services
    • Services for Adults
    • Services for Children & Adolescents
  • Intellectual Disabilities
    • About Pittsburgh Mercy Intellectual Disabilities Services
    • Day Support & Community Participation Services
    • Residential Services for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
    • Unlicensed Home & Community Services
    • Employment Services
    • Contact
  • Physical Health
    • About Pittsburgh Mercy Family Health Center
    • Our Services
    • Locations & Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Insurances
    • Your Care Team
    • Pharmacy Services
  • Intervention Services
  • Homeless Services
    • About Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net
    • Street Outreach
    • Winter Shelter
    • Housing & Care Management
    • Physical Health
    • Project HELP
    • Student Placement Opportunities & Street Medicine Fellowship
    • Awards & Accolades
    • How You Can Help
    • Bethlehem Haven
  • Veterans Services
  • Faith Communities
    • About the Pittsburgh Mercy Parish Nurse & Health Ministry Program
    • About Faith Community Nursing & Health Ministry
    • Education for Faith Communities
    • Resources for Faith Communities
Stories Of Hope

My25: ID residential sites embrace healthy lifestyle plan

Smiling man on elliptical exercise equipment.
Posted on June 28, 2021 by Linda Ross

By Zandy Dudiak, Communications coordinator

What do you do when someone replaces the junk food snacks you love to eat with fruits and veggies? Well, maybe you try the healthy snacks for a week. Then, you get a bit upset in week two because you really miss the food that’s not good for you.

That was a challenge that Tamara Epperson, team lead, faced when the three residents at Parkview Community Living Arrangement (CLA) began following the My25 food plan this year. But it was a lifestyle change that they’ve overcome with time, even switching to water or flavored water instead of carbonated beverages. “We got rid of all the bad snacks and all the bad drinks,” she says. “They’re doing it. They aren’t sneaking as much.”

Smiling man on elliptical exercise equipment.
Mike W. enjoys exercising on the elliptical.

Justin Moran, team lead, found the same thing when the snacks at Harmening CLA, switched to healthier foods, such as oranges, watermelons, apples, and bananas, for the three residents there. “They look forward to it now,” he says.

Part of Pittsburgh Mercy’s strategic plan is to reduce obesity prevalence for persons served in continuity of care programs by 10% between July 2019 and June 2022. Obesity is a main cause of decreased life expectancy for persons living with severe mental illness and a disparity for vulnerable populations. “We are stewards of their health,” Justin says.

My25 originally was designed for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a community-based setting. My25’s outcomes are highly favorable, with 70 percent of persons supported by the program at or moving toward a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) within six to 18 months of adopting the eating plan.

“These have been significant changes in their diets on a positive level,” Justin says. “We try to have a plate that looks one half fruit and vegetables and one half carbs and protein.”

Meals that often were “convenient” for colleagues to prepare in the past, such as microwaveable frozen entrees, have been traded for the easy-to-prepare meals. Justin says the My25 meal plan recipes break down the ingredients needed for every meal. Tamara says that was important at the Parkview site, because the colleagues there weren’t cooks, but were able to look at the menu and recipe and follow the instructions step by step.”

“It’s challenging but the more we do it, the better we’re getting at it,” Tamara says. “It’s amazing. It not only tells you what it is, it tells you how to make it.”

Smiling man on recumbent exercise bike.
Mike B. exercises on this recumbent bike as part of his healthy lifestyle change.

One Harmening resident who was eating peanut butter two-to-three times a day during the pandemic offered some resistance at first. “He’s complied,” Justin says. “He eats the meals we prepare for him now. He’s changed. I would definitely credit the program with that.”

At Harmening, counselor Mike Eliou is the colleague who checks out the meals for the week. Breakfasts and lunches are pretty standard but healthy, Justin says. The variety comes with dinner.

“I like My25 because it’s different things,” Tamara says. “It has so many recipes, you don’t get bored. Things that you think wouldn’t be healthy are healthy—if you cook them properly.”

It’s also easy to adjust the meals. The Parkview residents didn’t like the oatmeal on the My25 plan, so the colleagues tweaked it and “now they’re eating oatmeal every morning,” Tamara says. The healthier eating lifestyle has helped two of the Parkview residents consistently lose one or two pounds a week, Tamara notes.

Even “cheat days” are healthier. Tamara says the colleagues will use a thinner pizza crust or make a cauliflower crust instead. At restaurants, they are choosing broccoli instead of fries as a side dish.

Though Harmening hasn’t documented the weight loss among the three residents, Justin says, “their energy and demeanor is a little better and brighter.” They have also been using gym equipment, including an elliptical, a sitting bike, two regular bikes, and an Envision machine to help them track workouts. Parkview has purchased a bicycle for the residents there.

My25 has indirectly influenced colleagues, too. Tamara says one staff member at Parkview is using the recipes at home, though she sometimes tweaks it to make it better for her children.

“It has made me a little more health conscious,” Justin says. “It’s helped me with portion control.

Tagged in:
  • Harmening CLA
  • My25 food plan
  • My25 Plan
  • Parkview CLA
  • Pittsburgh Mercy
  • Pittsburgh Mercy ID Services
  • Pittsburgh Mercy Intellectual Disabilities Services
Share on:
  • In the News
  • News Releases
  • Social Media
  • Media Relations
  • Stories Of Hope
  • Annual Report
  • Credits

Categories

  • Art In Therapy
  • Employment
  • Family
  • Gratitude
  • Health & Well-Being
  • History
  • Independence
  • Lifesharing
  • Mindfulness
  • Mission
  • Recovery
  • Street Outreach
  • Therapeutic Gardening
  • Uncategorized
  • Veterans Services

Archives

Back to Top
Pittsburgh Mercy

A member of Trinity Health, serving
in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy

A Member of Trinity Health

Pittsburgh Mercy
1200 Reedsdale Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2109
USA

Call 1-877-637-2924

Email info@pittsburghmercy.org

Contact Us Feedback

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Notice of Nondiscrimination & Accessibility Requirements
  • Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • http://CARF%20Accredited

© 2022 Pittsburgh Mercy

Website by Imagebox