Cedars-Sinai Secures Grant to Expand IBD Program Internationally

Cedars-Sinai has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to expand its successful “prehabilitation” program for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients to patients living outside of the U.S. who require surgery. The expanded program will first be developed in partnership with three hospitals in Israel to serve diverse patient populations.

The IBD Prehabilitation Program, pioneered at Cedars-Sinai, has significantly enhanced surgical outcomes and reduced complications for patients with the digestive disease.

Gil Melmed, MD, director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Research, led the development of the multidisciplinary program and is eager to study its effectiveness in healthcare systems serving patient populations where English is not the primary language.

“We don’t know if the positive outcomes from the program are specific to our local environment and patient population or if they also have wider application,” Melmed said. “This generous grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust enables us to expand the IBD prehabilitation protocols to a completely different environment and to patient populations in an international setting.”

Cedars-Sinai will partner with Sheba Medical Center through its ARC innovation center, along with two additional Israeli hospitals, to establish prehabilitation programs for IBD patients in need of surgery.

The 10-week program involves comprehensive care starting a month before surgery. Patients receive tailored dietary, mental health and physical therapy interventions both before and after their procedures.

“We have found that people participating in the program experienced a significant reduction in complications after surgery, as well as a reduction in 30-day readmissions and repeated surgery. They also required less opioid medication for pain,” said Melmed, who is also the associate director of the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai.

An estimated 3 million people in the U.S. have inflammatory bowel disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation estimates that about 10 million people are living with IBD. The disorder produces chronic and often destructive inflammation in the digestive tract. The two most common forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, with Crohn’s disease patients generally requiring abdominal surgery at least once in their lifetime.

“As part of the grant, we will develop patient materials in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew. If successful, we hope to expand to other countries to share this approach to meaningful improvement in health outcomes for people who require surgery to manage their disease,” Melmed said.

In 2022, the Helmsley Charitable Trust awarded Cedars-Sinai $1.25 million for initial development of the IBD prehabilitation program aimed at optimizing care and improving surgical outcomes and the overall health of patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Is It IBS or IBD?