Mainstay Inc is developing programs to combat obesity, diabetes and improve overall wellness of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The poor health of individuals with disabilities is rapidly gaining increased scrutiny and penalty. As one glaring example, people with IDD represent 1% of the Medicaid recipient base and approximately 11% of Medicaidâs expenses. Medicaid is essentially going around in circles here by funding non-nutritious food for this population and then underwriting resulting, costly illnessâobesity, diabetes, and hypertensionâcaused by eating unhealthy foods. People with IDD suffer from obesity, diabetes and hypertension at approximately three times the rates experienced by the general population. While pharmacological and environmental complications are always a factor to consider, it has been proven that a majority of these unhealthy conditions is reversible for a majority of the population. Mainstay has developed two programs for this problem, My25 Lite andMy25 Choice. My25 Lite is centered on affordability and supports a highly manageable transition to encourage improved mealtime habits. For people supported, My25 Liteâs most effective implementations are in waivers, home services and independent living settings. My25 Choice program is more selective and chooses clients based on an application and interview approval process. The program provides streamlined menu plans, grocery shopping lists and meal prep steps customized by group homesâtaking into account the various dietary needs and likes/dislikes of residents in each setting. Staff and consumers can input and store their own recipes into the system as a way to ensure that personal favorites stick around at mealtime; the system automatically creates nutrition tracking and a shopping list for these recipes. Mainstay employs a full-time chef with many years of experience working with DSPs, people with disabilities, and specialized dietary needs who continually updates menu suggestions and recipes to reflect seasonality and cel
