inside workplace wellness

Eleven Workplace Trends that will Impact Our Work

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:39:00 +0000

As part of our annual goal setting process for the human resources team, we brainstorm trends and observations that may impact our work. We use this exercise as a way to get us to a 30,000 foot level before setting our team goals for the year. These are the most interesting things we discussed.

Employees are using their personal iPhones, iPads and other electronic devices to work. This brings up issues about where work is stored and whether it's tied to the business or the individual. Employees expect integration and a unified experience across platforms. Employers are using more web-based collaboration tools to support day-to-day operations.
Communication is focused on real-time interactions. Email is viewed as too slow and is beginning to go the way of the fax machine. People rely on text messaging and various social networks to communicate instantly.
Video is becoming increasingly important. Companies save time and money by conducting first interviews via Skype. Meetings and training are held by video conference. Employees look for "how to" videos instead of written instructions. Job Seekers look for "day in the life" videos to get a realistic preview of a jobs.
Job seekers target specific employers instead of responding to advertisements. This makes branding a business as an employer of choice a higher priority if you want to attract the best talent.
User built content becomes more prominent and more visual. Consumer behavior and attitudes are heavily influenced by connections in a social network. People look for tools to organize information that are not chronological. Think Pinterest. Reports show it's driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.
Companies continue to focus on controlling the cost of benefits. Many shift costs to employees in the form of higher monthly contributions and imposing benefit limitations like drug formularies. Consumer driven health plans become more popular and lead to the promotion of healthcare consumerism. Carriers have consolidated leaving fewer insurance options to employers. Healthcare Reform continues to have a significant impact. W-2 reporting requirements go into effect this year and lay the groundwork for taxing "Cadillac" plans in the future. Payer-Provider lines continue to blur as more insurance companies own providers. There is a shift toward bundled payment structures. Medical data will be shared more easily between providers and insurers.
mHealth slowly transforms healthcare. I've written about reverse innovation as a healthcare trend before. It refers to developing products for emerging markets and then distributing them globally. There was another great example in this month's Fast Company -- As Smartphones Get Smarter, You May Get Healthier: How mHealth Can Bring Cheaper Health Care To All. The first example is about a MIT professor who created an app and attachment for a smartphone to measure refractive error -- a reading needed to prescribe eyeglasses. 15 more examples follow in the article. Many traditional service providers appear resistant to this trend. Many consumers seem interested in the ease of access and the affordability.
Wellness efforts continue to focus on data integration and reaching out to people "at risk." Expect to see an increased focus on building activity into day-to-day routines as opposed to structured exercise. This trend may be helped along by new gadgets like the Fitbit, Jawbone UP and Nike Fuelband. There's lots of talk about gamification, but I'm doubtful it's going to be much of a game changer in workplace wellness. More employers are offering incentives and penalties to employees to improve their health. This may contribute to an increase in stigmatization and discrimination against individuals that are overweight.
Emphasis is placed on blended approaches to learning that include gaming and apps. Organizations are making efforts to map informal learning opportunities. Employees seek more sources of feedback and personalized learning plans. Free services like the Khan Academy support online learning.
Increase focus on transparency and disclosure. Regulatory focus will be on the financial sector.
Leading an exhausted workforce. The economy has taken its toll and people are worn out from helping family members who have lost jobs and other financial worries. Maybe this at least partially explains another trend we noticed -- adults are reading teen lit. First there was Harry Potter, then the Twilight series and now the Hunger Games -- maybe people just need an escape.

Pin It

Seven Questions Caregivers Need to Ask

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:18:00 +0000

In most families, one person takes on the role of coordinating health care and insurance coverage. According to the Department of Labor, "Women make approximately 80 percent of health care decisions for their families and are more likely to be the care givers when a family member falls ill." So, what happens when the decision-maker is ill? Here are some things you need to consider if you suddenly find yourself taking on the caregiving role.

First, get a copy of the insurance card and make sure you know what type of insurance you have. Is it a network only plan or do you have benefits that extend outside the network of providers?
Identify the resources that are available to you to learn about your benefits. Members of the HR team where you have your insurance coverage should be happy to point you in the right direction. Be sure to ask if you have access to any advocacy benefits like Health Advocate.
Confirm the provider is in-network. Even if someone at a doctor's office tells you that a provider is in-network, it's worth confirming. You should be able to look this up on your insurance company's website or confirm the information by calling the customer care number on your insurance card.
Find out if you need to notify the insurance company before receiving any services. In general, Network providers are responsible for notifying the insurance company before providing certain services. However, there are some services that you may need to notify the insurance company about even if you use a network provider. These may include things like -- non-emergency ambulance services, participation in clinical trials, dental services received as a result of an accident, and transplants. If you use an out-of-network provider, you are likely to be responsible for obtaining approval yourself. To notify the insurance company, call the customer care number on your insurance card.
Call your doctor for test results. Most patients assume no news is good news if they don't hear back from their doctor about test results, but this can be a mistake. An article in the New York Times reported on a study that showed that 25% of the time there was a problem getting the results back from the lab and 7 percent of the mistakes involved the doctor's office failing to notify patients of the results. So, be sure to ask these questions. (1) Will my test results be sent to the doctor? (2) When should they receive them? And, then follow-up if you don't get a call when you expect to receive one.
Consider getting a second opinion. This article suggests a second opinion can help save you money, help you feel more comfortable, verify necessary treatment, confirm diagnosis, and present other treatment options. If you're consulting with another provider, ask what test results you should bring with you.
If you're scheduling surgery, ask if you need to preregister at the hospital or surgery center before the procedure.

Diet-to-Go for People on the Go

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:38:00 +0000

Staff members were telling us that they were tired at the end of the day and all their good intentions to eat a healthy dinner were easily derailed. In our last weight loss program, we also noticed a correlation between eating a lot of prepared foods and being overweight. I started talking with folks about this challenge and one of my contacts at United Healthcare (UHC), Eugenia Perna, told me about Diet-to-Go. Eugenia arranged for us to meet with staff from Diet-to-Go and we just introduced the program to staff in conjunction with the start of our current Biggest Loser campaign. We held a tasting on January 26 and 30 staff members ordered meals. Many people are using the program to lose weight, but others are ordering meals just for the convenience.

The meals are delivered to our office on Tuesdays and Fridays. You can order as few as three meals per week or as many as 21. You can choose from three different meal plans -- traditional/low-fat, vegetarian, and low-carb. Interestingly, the only calorie controlled option is the traditional/low-fat menu. With that option, you can choose either 1,200 or 1,600 calories per day. We receive a 5% discount for being customers of UHC and a 5% discount for being a drop-off location. (We did need to rent a Diet-to-Go refrigerator to store the meals in to become a drop-off location, but there was no minimum participation required.)

We received our first deliver last Tuesday. I ordered three lunches from the low-carb menu to try out the program. Most of the lunches on the traditional/low-fat menu were sandwiches which didn't appeal to me. The meals are individually packaged with heating instructions and nutritional information on the label. I enjoyed two of the lunches -- chimichura salmon with marinated asparagus and creole shrimp stew with a piece of string cheese. The third lunch was 960 calories of chicken wings. I took that home for my son. The people I talked with seem to like most of the meals they've tried although one person did say she felt like she was eating airline food. A few people have said that they're struggling a bit to adjust to the portions -- a sign that they were eating more than they realized before.

From an administrative stand point, Diet-to-Go handles most everything. People can call or order online. They receive a confirmation email. If there are any problems with the orders, staff deal directly with Diet-to-Go. Their staff have been friendly and helpful. All and all, an easy enhancement to our wellness program.

Innovation Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Graphic Record of Innovation Day created by Greg Gersch

We held a Day of Innovation on Monday in our office. Our Executive Director introduced the idea prompted by an ASAE initiative. A team of staff worked for about a month to pull together a day filled with activities that would help us take a fresh look at our work.

The team solicited input from staff on session topics and we tapped into our pool of trained facilitators to lead sessions. I gathered resources for each topic to give the facilitators a jumping off point and to provide information to staff that wanted to pursue a topic further. Maggie McGary, our online community and social media manager, mentioned to me that Pinterest is the 3rd most popular referring site to the ASHA blog. Inspired to do things differently, I decided to create an account and organize the materials on Pinterest. I liked the virtual bulletin board concept and found it easily conducive to organizing materials from a variety of media. I interviewed people throughout the day creating short videos on my iPhone and it was simple to upload them to You Tube and pin them to the Pinterest site. A lot of us are finding Pinterest addictive, so consider yourself warned. (I kind of wish I would have created two accounts now -- one for business and one personal, but oh well. Half the time I wouldn't know where to draw that line anyway.)

More directly related to wellness, Innovation Day inspired one of our staff members to suggest we acquire a few devices that people could use to be more active at their desks like those little bike pedal things. (Thanks Karen!) Has anyone tried this at work? I'm thinking I'll order a couple gadgets and let some folks try it out. We all know how unhealthy it is to sit for long periods of time.

A true highlight of the day was the graphic record above created by Greg Gersch.

Interested in using Pinterest? Check out Pinterest for Associations: New Audience, New Addiction by Deirdre Reid.

Biggest Loser 2012 -- Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:31:00 +0000

We have 36 individuals participating in our 2012 Biggest Loser program. They're grouped into six even teams. In an effort to increase engagement this year, we've implemented a simple cash prize program. Each participant contributed $24 when they signed up. This amounts to $2 per week, half of that ($1 per week) goes to the weekly winner (individual with the highest percentage weight lost) and half ($1) to the overall winner (individual with the highest percentage of weight lost at the end of the 12 week program.) We'll also announce a winning team each week. Each member of the winning team will receive a package of Corn Thins and bragging rights for the week. (I'll try to explain the Corn Thins another time.)

Week 1 Results

Our week one winner, Temple Gomez, lost 3% of her weight. (Weigh to go Temple!) Our winning team is Team MoGo -- Moms on the Go. They lost 1.46% of their starting weight, 12.75 pounds. Our 36 participants lost a total of 44 pounds in week one.

Here's a little inspiration going into Week 2. Maybe it will help you stay on track Super Bowl Sunday.

New W-2 Reporting Requirements of Health Care Reform

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:57:00 +0000

Last week I participated in a webinar to learn about the new W-2 reporting requirements of healthcare reform. This information will have to be reported on 2012 W-2s which will be provided to employees in January 2013. Here are the basics:

Organizations only have to report this information if they issued 250 or more W-2s for the 2011 calendar year.
You do not have to report for retirees or anyone else that doesn't receive a W-2.
Generally speaking, you have to report on any benefits you are required to offer COBRA for, however, vision and dental are exempt for 2012.
Voluntary benefits do not have to be reported. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) benefits do not have to be reported (even though you do offer COBRA) unless the employer contributes. Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) are also not included.
Something that doesn't seem to be common knowledge -- EAPs that offer direct counseling and treatment, rather than just referrals, are regulated under ERISA and subject to COBRA. So, this would have to be reported.
Report the premium charged or the COBRA cost without the 2% administrative fee. (This reflects the total cost of the coverage, not just the employer portion.)
Wellness Programs will have to be reported if they qualify as a group health plan. The programs that qualify as group health plans generally seem to have onsite clinics.
The amount reported must reflect changes in coverage during the year -- individual to family etc... Ideally we'd input the cost of coverage when we set up the deductions in payroll, but we're going to have to play catch up this year. Guidelines weren't released by the IRS until this month, so most payroll providers aren't yet set up to track the information.
If the final pay period straddles two reporting years, employers may use a reasonable allocation method to divide the cost between the two years, or treat the coverage period as occurring either entirely before December 31 or entirely after December 31.
This isn't something you want to mess up because the penalties are huge -- $30 to $100 per day per W-2.

These benefits are not taxable at this time, but it seems to be laying the ground work for the government to tax "Cadillac" plans in the future.

Thanks to Mark Sager at Alliant, our broker, for inviting me to join in the webinar with him.

An Interview with Winter Pudge -- Sign Up for the Biggest Loser

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:50:00 +0000

We have 32 people signed up to participate in this years' Biggest Loser program so far. Hopefully this last minute push from Kristin Howard will get a few more of our colleagues to join in the fun. Many thanks to Kristin for starting today with a laugh.

Biggest Loser 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:41:00 +0000

We're kicking off another Biggest Loser Campaign and applying all the lessons we've learned from the past two years to make this a fun, engaging and successful program.

Six Simple Steps to Meaningful Goal Setting

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Too often the process of setting and evaluating goals becomes transactional. When the big picture is lost, we rarely accomplish something that makes us proud. This simple process helps us anticipate the needs of our organization and develop meaningful team and individual goals.

Step One: DEAR Time (Drop Everything And Read.) This helps us back away from the day-to-day things we are dealing with and look from a broader perspective. I usually find one article that forecasts HR trends that we all read and then we each pick things that sound interesting. We spend a hour or so reading.

Step Two: Brainstorm trends and observations that may impact our work in the future. The last time we did this exercise, we came up with ten workplace trends that are impacting our work.

Step Three: Brainstorm team goals. We mind map ours.

Step Four: Select two people to work on each goal and identify the point person. (This stems from my belief that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.) We each pick a different color marker. I circle the goals with the color selected by the people that will work on them.

Step Five: Convert your mind map into a nice neat spreadsheet that linear thinkers can read and you can use to track progress. If you have a lot of goals, categorize them by priority.

Step Six: Develop individual goals in whatever format you use in your organization. At this point it’s helpful to note any resources that will be needed or any learning that will need to occur to accomplish each goal. Many people in our organization also focus on how they will measure and evaluate each goal at this time. I find that we are pretty in sync after completing the steps above and that this is not essential for us.

I'm a believer in sharing your goals whether they're team goals or individual goals, but I explored another perspective on that in this post.

Who's your willpower role model?

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:59:00 +0000

I enjoyed a story on the Today Show this morning about how to boost your willpower to achieve your goals. They interviewed Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., a Standford University lecturer. This five minute video segment provides a pretty good framework for considering willpower. And, I love the question they posed -- Who's your willpower role model?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Related Posts:

Got Grit?
Willpower
Self Control and the HR Candy Jar

Can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 and 1/2 hours per day?

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:52:00 +0000

Dr. Mike Evans makes a compelling case for exercising 30 minutes per day in this well done 9 minute video. It's the single best thing you can do for your health.

Dr. Evans is the founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and a professor at the University of Toronto and a staff physician at St. Michaell's Hospital. (I'd like this even if he had not mentioned Steven Blair from the University of South Carolina. Go Cocks!)

Many thanks to Bill Baulkwill for sharing this with me.

Payer-Provider Lines Blur -- Another Trend in Healthcare

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:38:00 +0000

Have you noticed that the line between payers and providers is becoming blurred? More insurance companies now own groups of providers. There are numerous examples, but I’ve been paying particular attention to UnitedHealthcare’s launch of hi HealthInnovations -- a fully owned subsidiary that is providing steeply discounted hearing aids to some of its’ Medicare members as well as offering direct to consumer sales. Other examples include Humana’s purchase of Concentra, a Texas-based provider of stand-alone medical centers. Wellpoint recently acquired CareMore, a health plan operator that owns a number of clinics in the Los Angeles area. CIGNA controls a Phoenix medical group. There are flip side examples too, Partners HealthCare System Inc, a large hospital and physicians network in Massachusetts, acquired Neighborhood Health Plan, a Boston-based nonprofit insurer with 240,000 members. I found this article on the topic particularly interesting, Managed Care Enters The Exam Room As Insurers Buy Doctor Groups.

Why the shift? Healthcare reform is minimizing profits, so insurance companies are diversifying. The Affordable Care Act limits the portion of premium dollars that can go towards administrative costs and profits. This year, a provision requiring insurance companies to spend 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars on medical care and health care quality improvement, rather than on administrative costs went into effect. In 2012, insurance companies will be required to provide a rebate to their customers if their profits exceed the mandated percentage.

Insurers are also under constant pressure from employers and other customers to minimize premium increases. If the insurance companies own the provider groups, they have more control over the costs. When I attended the United Healthcare’s Customer Forum last June, they mentioned that they were introducing a HMO in Florida at the request of some of the employers they work with. The thinking seemed to be that these employers would prefer to provide a limited HMO benefit to their employees than no benefit at all. Actually owning the provider groups doesn’t seem like such a huge leap from a HMO. Look at Kaiser as another example. And, isn’t that what is happening with the trend toward ACOs, Accountable Care Organizations. Some are being initiated by large physician groups, some by hospital systems, and others by health insurance companies. Humana, United Healthcare, and Cigna have all announced plans to form their own ACOs.

What impact will this have? Time will tell. Insurance companies controlling the providers might drive costs down, but ACOs could push costs up. As hospitals join forces with physicians and gain market share, they may have more leverage in negotiations with insurers. Benefits may become available to more people through delivery models like United's hi Healthinnovations, but consumer may have fewer choices of providers and durable medical suppliers. Americans typically place a high value on choice, but with 50 million people uninsured (16.3 percent of Americans) something has to give. Especially when you consider the fact that the percentage of people covered by employer-based health insurance has declined while the number of people covered by Medicare and Medicaid has increased.

Thanksgiving Dinner the Volumetrics Way

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:39:00 +0000

I asked Ellen Slotkin, the nutritionist we are working with on our current weight loss program, for her advice for staying on track during Thanksgiving. We're using Volumetrics as the basis for our program.

As we head toward the Thanksgiving holiday, here are several things to keep in mind…

1. Give “THANKS” this holiday season.
T- Try. “Try” dishes by taking a small portion, rather than eating an entire serving. That way you get to experience all of your favorites, without excess calories.
H- eat Half. The easiest way to “have your cake and eat it too” during Thanksgiving is to select everything you would have normally chosen, but put only half the amount on your plate. Once you have eaten it- take a moment to ask yourself if you are truly hungry for a second helping. Try having a glass of water, tea, or low-calorie beverage before going back for seconds.
A- Activity. Plan a family walk after your Thanksgiving meal, or head to the mall for some black Friday shopping and park farther out in the parking lot than you normally would.
N- “No” is not an insult! Saying No to an offer of a high-fat, high-calorie dish is not an insult to the person who made (or purchased it.) If they truly care about you, your health should come first.
K- Keep it Simple. Control the amount of extras at your meal -- gravy on turkey, whipped cream on pie -- these calories can add up quickly, so limit your self to a small amount of each.
S- Slow Down. Prevent second and third helpings by slowing down your eating speed. Focus on conversation, put your fork down between bites, count the number of times you chew.

2. Substitute Smart.

Use fat-free cream of mushroom soup for casserole dishes.
Use fat-free chicken broth to baste turkey and make gravy.
Use sugar substitutes in place of sugar and/or fruit purees instead of oil in desserts.
Reduce oil and butter whenever possible.

3. Portion Control!

Turkey: One deck of playing cards
Starches: Two computer micePie: Two small slivers

Build Your Immunity Arsenal for Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Our organization holds an annual convention for 10,000+ members the week before Thanksgiving. About 100 staff travel to host the convention. We usually fly and then wind-up working 14 hours a day in a convention center. Inevitably, some of us get sick. It's usually just a cold, but it's no fun. I asked Dave Foreman if he had some tips for staying healthy when you travel. Dave's a pharmacist and a Naturopathic Doctor. We partnered with Dave on a heart health initiative earlier this year. This is what Dave shared with me.

Whether or not it is cold/flu season or you just don’t want to get sick, here are a few tips to support yourself naturally.

Avoid Sugar - (this includes other “white” foods like pasta, bread, cake, etc. and honey) I like to say that sugar/refined foods make your immune cells stupid. I read years ago that 7 teaspoons of sugar will decrease your immune function by 50% for up to 8 hours. While you immune cells aren’t functioning properly, bacteria and viruses can wreak havoc on your body. Stay ahead of the game and avoid those refined foods.

Wash your hands - Goodness knows what all you have on your hands. I like grapefruit seed extract as my hand sanitizer. If you want something more traditional, there are a few great choices at your local health food store.

Supplement - I use a supplement daily (Host Defense) to support my immune system. By using a support supplement, I can use it daily for months on end. Other products I like are: Advanced Immune Support (MD Select), Immune Support Formula (Weil Nutritional Formulas) and Immuneactive (Futurebiotics). Consult with a store health enthusiast to find the right formula for you.

Pay me later: You know the old saying, “pay me now or pay me later”. What if it is too late and you are now getting sick? Look for products that boost or stimulate your immune system into action. In my family, we use Esberitox (Enzymatic Therapy). Other great products such as; Seasonal Support (MD Select), Umcka Cold and Flu (Nature’s Way), Immuboost Blend Sp-21 (Solaray) and Wellness Formula (Source Naturals) along with a bunch more I can’t list can be found in the immune support section of your local health food store.

Improve Your Healthcare Experience with Health Advocate

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:39:00 +0000

Three years ago, I went to the SHRM conference looking for a company that could help our staff get the most out of our health insurance. We were paying for our staff to have great coverage, but I was hearing about situations where our staff weren't getting the care they needed or they were hassling with resolving claims issues they didn't fully understand. The HR team was also spending a considerable amount of time helping people resolve issues related to our health and dental insurance and receiving questions about Medicare that were outside our area of expertise. Health Advocate had a booth at the conference. I chatted with them, picked up some literature, and followed-up when I got back to the office. We decided they would fill a need and added the benefit November 1, 2008.

Health Advocate can help people address a whole host of healthcare and insurance-related issues that include.

Finding the best providers or hospitals

Untangling medical bills

Locating eldercare and support services

Securing second opinions

Navigating insurance coverage

Explaining conditions and treatment options

We cover all our staff (regardless of whether or not they have our health insurance coverage) and all of our retirees. Coverage also extends to our spouses, dependent children, parents and parents-in-laws. We seem to be averaging around 40 interactions per month. About half of the calls are people looking for assistance with a claim. Other popular reasons to call relate to locating care, seeking health information, and dealing with Medicare.

I've used the service myself a number of times. Health Advocate once wrote a successful appeal letter for me when I had lab charges denied that were provided through a participating doctor, a couple of years ago they helped me find a physical therapist near the office with available appointments, and I just called them again to help me find a doctor with a particular speciality and to get information about treatment options for a specific condition.

The service is reasonably priced at $2.10 per covered employee/retiree per month. The current utilization report suggests that they saved us $20,838 from 12/1/2010 through 9/30/2011. (That's mostly an estimate of productivity savings.) During that period, our coverage cost about $6,400. Not a bad ROI.

If you're covered under the ASHA plan, you can call Health Advocate at 866-695-8622.

It's Open Enrollment Time

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:16:00 +0000

It's open enrollment time again and we just posted this information for staff on our Intranet and sent individual letters out to all of our retirees. I believe in making benefits information easily accessible to our families, so I'm posting it here too.

Open Enrollment 2012

Loretta's Trip to St. Thomas

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Loretta is back from St. Thomas and she has a big smile on her face. She shared this about her trip. (If you haven't already done so, be sure to read about her journey to wellness.)

Hi all,

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to St. Thomas this past week. The weather was beautiful and the views were amazing! We enjoyed the beaches, great food, shopping and site seeing. The condo was very nice with fantastic views from all rooms of Bolongo Bay and the Caribbean Sea. We took the ferry to St. John and enjoyed the beautiful beaches and national park there as well. It was all so relaxing and enjoyable and all that we hoped it would be.

On a health and fitness note, thought you would be pleased to know that I incorporated healthy eating (lots of grilled or steamed seafood and vegetables) and fitness (walking, swimming and use of exercise equipment in the condo) every day. I set a goal for myself to neither lose nor gain any weight during the week and am pleased that I achieved this small goal! I stayed on course with making good choices 90% of the time and limiting treats to 10% of food and drink choices. Among our splurges we sampled the local meat pate and enjoyed a yummy rum infused chocolate shake (Fodor’s choice recommendation) at Udder Delight, an ice cream concession associated with the St. Thomas Dairies near Maegen’s Bay.

Ralph and I truly enjoyed the trip and are so grateful to have had this opportunity. Thanks so much for planning such a wonderful health and fitness program and for offering this journey to wellness and to St. Thomas! It was a memorable time. We took lots of great pictures!

Loretta

Celebrate the Athletes

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:23:00 +0000

It was a big weekend for some of our fittest staff -- Becky Venediktov completed the Baltimore marathon in 3:52:52 crushing her four hour goal. Diane Paul completed the The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure® 60-mile walk in Philadelphia to celebrate her birthday. Mike Guerrieri completed yet another century ride, the Seagull Century, in 6.25 hours. Even our spouses got into the spirit -- Paul Seesman, Paula's husband, completed his first century ride.

We talk a lot about helping people make healthy changes as part of workplace wellness initiatives, but it's important to support active people like Becky, Diane, Mike and Paul too. It's easy for life to get in the way of exercising and eating well even when we're dedicated. Offering staff flexible work options helps people fit training into busy schedules. We've also targeted some of our educational opportunities to our active staff e.g., Eat Like an Athlete and a Myofascial Release Clinic.

Becky

Diane is on the right.

Mike is in the yellow. Paul is second from the right.

Weight Loss Program Update

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:38:00 +0000

We're three weeks into our new weight loss program. The twelve participants have met twice with their nutritionist, Ellen Slotkin from LifeWork Strategies. Week 1 they were given a copy of Volumetrics and they implemented an "add-more" philosophy. That's adding more foods low in energy density to their meals so that the portions will be more satisfying while reducing calorie intake.

Week 3 they met again with Ellen and they focused on eating speed and strategies to slow down when they eat -- listening to relaxing music at dinner, counting the number of times they chew, putting the fork or spoon down between bites, etc...

Today I'm distributing copies of Mindless Eating to the participants. I'm also setting up a group potluck luncheon and a weight loss community group on our intranet for them to share recipe recommendations and other thoughts. The weight loss community group is actually open to all staff.

We had a number of people express great disappointment when the didn't get into the program. (We had 32 applications for 12 slots.) In response, we have asked Ellen to come in and do a group session on Volumetrics. This will be held Friday, October 21, at noon. We've suggested that these individuals contact LifeWork Strageties (877-252-8550) and take advantage of the wellness coaching that we've made available at no cost to our staff and their families. We've also offered to purchase a copy of Volumnmetrics for people that want to try the program. We're placing a few copies of Mindless Eating in our HR Library for anyone who wants to read it. We'll be looking for other ways to support this group too.

How to Green Your Grocery Shopping & enter to win a copy of Forks Over Knives

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Foraging for a Healthy & Sustainable Meal

Last week we had Gina Cawly from Conscious Corner talk with ASHA staff about greening their shopping as a lead in to our biannual green living event on October 5. Conscious Corner is a group of stores committed to healthy and mindful living, supporting small organic farms, individual artisans, socially responsible companies, the environment, animals and the community. They own Roots Market, Bark Pawsitive Petfood, Great Sage Organic Green Cuisine and Nest Earth-friendly Clothing and Gifts which are all in Clarksville or Olney, Maryland.

Pesticides in Produce

Gina suggested using foodnews.org as a source for information on the dirty dozen and clean 15. Most experts recommend that you eat the Dirty Dozen only when you can get them organic and that you're safe in purchasing the Clean 15 in conventional form. You can sign up to "Get the Guide" on the Food News site and then download a pdf or an iPhone or Droid app.

Can you name the top three items on the Dirty Dozen list? List them in a comment below and I'll randomly chose someone to win a copy of Forks Over Knives. Include your email address or Twitter handle so I can contact you if you win. I'll select the winner on October 14. (You must be within the Continental US to win.)

Meat and Dairy

I won't repeat what I've shared about meat. If you're interested, you can read my post on Meatless Mondays. Gina talked a bit about eggs and the practice of killing the male chicks. I'm not going to go into it too much here because we eat five dozen eggs a week in our house and I don't want to think about it. We do order them from South Mountain Creamery and I believe their practices are more humane, but I should check into it more thoroughly.

Gina shared this trailer of Forks Over Knives with us. I didn't get the imagery at first. I was picturing a salad fork and a steak knife until I read a review I'll share in a bit. It's really fork -- food -- and knife -- scalpel. The message being you control your health with what you eat. They advocate eating a "plant-based diet." They clearly mean vegan, but wisely steer clear of using this label. All or nothing propositions are hard to embrace, but most of us can probably imagine eating less meat, fewer processed foods and more plants.

The scientific claims in the movie are very compelling. I found myself enthusiastically describing a number of them to my husband. I decided to look some of them up and came across this review -- "Forks Over Knives": Is the Science Legit? Health Blogger Denise Minger painstakingly analyzes each scientific claim made in the movie. I like that she supports the message, but chooses to question the claims. This is a long, but fascinating review. You'll learn that many of the claims in the movie aren't so sound, but like Denise, I still like the message.

I think other staff might be interested in this documentary, so I'm looking into hosting a screening or discussion. Please let me know if you'd be interested in participating.

The movie is available on Netflix for instant viewing.

Fair Trade

What does Fair Trade represent?

Fair Price for Producers
Empowerment and Self-Sufficiency
Investment in Communities and Cultural Heritage
Women's Participation
Enviromental Sustainability

Look for these labels:

Label Reading

What else should you look for when reading labels?

GMO Free
No cotton seed oil
No high fructose corn syrup
No dyes
No artificial flavors

ASHA Recognized as One of Greater Washington's Healthiest Employers

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:24:00 +0000

Yesterday, we attended the WBJ Healthiest Employers award event. Honorees were broken into four categories according to their size, and then ranked one to ten within each category. ASHA was ranked #4 in the 100 to 499 category.

Arlene Pietranton, ASHA's Executive Director, accepting our award.

Sharing. Exchanging. Social Health.

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:50:00 +0000

On Monday, I attended the #sxsh conference -- Sharing. Exchanging. Social Health. I was really out of my element which made me think. (I spent part of the time just trying to keep up with the acronyms being tossed around.) I liked the TED style of the conference and it was a tremendous value -- $50 for a full day of learning in a pleasant environment from an impressive group of presenters. These were some of the highlights for me.

Todd Park, CTO Heath and Human Services, delivered the keynote address. He was held out as "better than coffee" first thing in the morning and he didn't disappoint. He spoke energetically about new incentives and a shift from a fee for service system to one that pays for health, quality and value. He talked a bit about integrated delivery systems and suggested there will be a range of approaches that will motivate and reward innovation prompted by projects like the CMS Innovation Center. Then he moved onto discussing information integration like the Blue Button Initiative and the Direct Project. A project to create the set of standards and services to seamlessly and securely transport health information. A note I starred -- fuel with data to spur change. (I can't help drawing analogies between healthcare and Moneyball this week with the movie coming out.) A list of initiatives he mentioned that I want to take a look at -- iTriage, Healthline, Castlight, patientslikeme, Asthmapolis, Food Oasis, and Ozioma.

Melissa Davies, NM Incite (Nielsen/McKinsey), talked about patients driving online discussions. Interestingly, patients with a condition with lower prevalence tend to have greater online engagement. She had some interesting slides and shared some new data from Healthcare Social Media by the Numbers. (Be sure to check out the info graphic.)

Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, previously known only to me as @healthythinker, suggested that people are adopting a DIY approach in this post-recession economy that extends to healthcare. There has been a lot written about people self-rationing care during an economic downturn, but Jane brought a different perspective. She kindly summarized her talk on her blog, (which is on my routine reading list) so you can get this great info directly from the source -- Peoples’ home economics are driving DIY Healthcare.

Kent Bottles, M.D. gave a presentation on Grassroots Mobilization. He talked about patient advocacy and the success of the Avastin campaign by breast cancer patients. Of course, Avastin was not ultimately approved by the FDA for use with breast cancer, but you can still appreciate effectiveness of the grassroots campaign by patients and their supporters. Dr. Bottles suggested that we would all benefit from a social approach to recruiting for clinical trials. He shared that cancer patients get half of what their doctors tell them wrong and talked about CareCoach.com a service to help people prepare for conversations with their doctors and even record them to revisit or share with family members later. A lot of doctors decline to have conversations recorded at this point, but Dr. Bottles predicts it will be like using video in police cars, someday doctors will come to appreciate the value of the transparency.

At lunch time, we witnessed the launch of Is My Cancer Different. We were told, "If you've seen one cancer, you've seen one cancer." This is a campaign to educate people with cancer to request advanced molecular-level testing so treatment can be targeted. There is a very compelling and passionate group of people behind this initiative. If you know someone with cancer, encourage them to visit the site and talk with their doctors about molecular-level testing.

I was hoping to meet more of the #co_health group IRL, but I did enjoy seeing Fran Melmed (@femelmed) and hopefully a few of the #sxsh folks will join in our chat today at noon on games and engagement.

Dave deBronkart, aka e-Patient Dave, shared his story and made a compelling case for increasing consumer involvement in healthcare. His story seemed to illustrate why we were all there. Take a few minutes, 16 to be more exact, and watch his TEDx Talk from earlier this year.

Our New Weight Loss Program

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:30:00 +0000

We are kicking off a new weight loss program for staff members who have a desire to lose 30 or more pounds. The approach is highly individualize and will focus on improving nutrition and increasing activity This program will be very different than our previous weight loss campaigns with frequent one-on-one consultations with a nutritionist and occasional group activities. There will be no teams and no competition involved.

Interested staff contacted our partner, LifeWork Strategies, and Cyndi Fales interviewed everyone who was interested. She assessed a number of things like the support candidates had at home, health conditions that might be improved by weight loss, readiness to change, and what worked and didn't in their past attempts at weight loss. 32 staff members expressed an interest in the program and 12 people were selected to participate.

Each participant has a one hour, one-on-one meeting scheduled with the nutritionist that we're working with, Ellen Slotkin, RD. We've provided each of the participants with a copy of Volumetrics and Ellen will be using the book as she works with people individually.

United Healthcare provided us with Fitbits to give to the participants. We're going to let everyone get started with changes to their diets since that has the biggest impact on weight loss and then we'll get them set up with the Fitbits.

We're making a long term commitment to the folks in this program. We have a plan for the next 12 weeks or so and will be relying on feedback from the participants to figure out what comes next.

Got Grit?

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:31:00 +0000

I recently wrote a post about willpower and how my thinking had evolved from my theory that one's willingness to tolerate discomfort had a lot to do with whether or not a person exercised routinely, to thinking about self control as an exhaustible resource, to thinking about willpower. Willpower is defined as being able to resist your own natural impulses and to focus your energy on the task at hand. I'm currently reading Drive and they introduce the concept of grit being and indicator of success. Grit is defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

Maybe it's not just willpower we need to make a healthy lifestyle change. Maybe we also need grit. Now I'm thinking you need willpower to make a change -- start a new diet or an exercise program -- but once you get some momentum going, you need grit to sustain the change and make it part of your lifestyle. From what I've read, you can't just apply grit to any random endeavor though. You have to see how your actions bring you closer to a long-term goal that you're passionate about.

There is a Grit Test on the University of Pennsylvania's Authentic Happiness Site. It's 22 simple question and only takes a few minutes to complete. Unfortunately, it takes a minute to register with the site to get access, but it's worth doing. I hope you'll take the test and let me know what you think.

Free Trial of ASHA Fitness Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Janet McNichol) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:47:00 +0000

We've recruited a wonderful group of trainers and developed a fun array of classes for our staff. Next week, staff can drop-in on any class and try it out at no cost. Then, they can sign-up for what they like best for our next 12 week session. This is what we're currently offering.

Mondays
Functional Training – Class 1 (Matt and Chris)
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Mondays 7:30 am

Discover your inner athlete in this circuit training class developed by True AP for the mature athlete hidden in all of us. Improve your speed, agility and quickness while increasing your strength and balance.

Women & Weights – Class 1 (Christina)
Level – All
Mondays 4:00 pm

Get your heart pumping and muscles moving in this whole body strength and conditioning class combining weights, bands, balls and floor work to challenge the entire body.

Women & Weights – Class 2 (Christina)
Level – All
Mondays 5:15 pm

Get your heart pumping and muscles moving in this whole body strength and conditioning class combining weights, bands, balls and floor work to challenge the entire body.

Tuesdays
Boxing Bootcamp (Matt and Chris)
Level: All
Tuesdays 7:30 am

Get in shape Rocky style. Learn the basic punches, combinations, and defenses while working out your entire body to improve cardiovascular endurance, core strength, power, footwork, and coordination. Take out your frustrations and find your inner peace. (Hey, some folks like yoga, some prefer hitting things.) Gloves and all equipment are provided although some folks prefer to sweat in their own gloves.

Total Body Conditioning – Class 1 (Ahmad)
Levels – All
Tuesdays 4:00 pm

Tune-in to the heart pumping music and get a full body work out in this high energy class. Includes cardio and weights and is designed to burn fat and build muscle. Open to all fitness levels; exercises are easy to follow and modify.

Pilates – Class 1 (Carol)
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Tuesdays 5:00 pm

Sculpt and strengthen your core without all those boring crunches and sit-ups. This mat-based workout is designed to help participants develop leaner, longer-looking muscles, establish core strength and stability, and heighten mind-body awareness. Props may be incorporated to add variety. This class will leave you standing tall and feeling refreshed and in touch with your breath. Please bring a mat.

Wednesdays
Get Fit Challenge – New (Matt and Chris)
Level: Beginner
Wednesday 7:30 am

Do you want to begin an exercise program, but find it a bit intimidating to start off on your own or by joining one of our existing classes? Well, this is the class for you. Matt and Chris will lead you through some total body cardio drills and low-impact strength and core training. Assessments will be built into the class every four weeks, so you can measure your progress and there will even be prizes to encourage you to stick with the program. This is the perfect starting point for people who want to improve their health and fitness.

Zumba (Christina)
Level -- All

Wednesdays 4:00 pm

Dance your way to the lean and graceful body you desire. Moderate impact, high-energy class designed to burn calories by moving to the beat.

Cardio Kickboxing (Lisa)
Level – Intermediate to Advanced
Wednesdays 5:15 pm

High intensity, high impact, fat blasting work out designed to increase your stamina and strength. This class combines easy to follow, drill based elements of boxing and martial arts with aerobics to elevate your heart rate. All to some good tunes. Be prepared to sweat.

Thursdays
Functional Training – Class 2 (Matt and Chris)
Thursdays 7:30 am
Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Discover your inner athlete in this circuit training class developed by True AP for the mature athlete hidden in all of us. Improve your speed, agility and quickness while increasing your strength and balance.

Total Body Conditioning – Class 2 (Ahmad)
Levels – All
Thursdays 4:00 pm

Tune-in to the heart pumping music and get a full body work out in this high energy class. Includes cardio and weights and is designed to burn fat and build muscle. Open to all fitness levels; exercises are easy to follow and modify.

Yoga (Kathleen)
Level: Beginner
Thursdays 5:15 pm

Yoga is so much more than a good stretch for the body—it’s a good stretch for the mind and the soul, as well! Round out your work week by coming to this relaxing Level 1 class. Whether you’re a newbie, a seasoned yoga “veteran,” or just plain stressed out, please join Kathleen and Crew for our weekly dose of sanity. NOTE: This class is very intentionally centered on quieting the mind, focusing on the breath, relaxing the body, and slowly but mindfully moving through some of the most beneficial, foundational poses in yoga. We’ll open our hips, strengthen our backs, tone our abs and arms, and increase our flexibility. We’ll quiet our “monkey minds” (sometimes, the biggest challenge of all) and soothe our souls in the process.

Logistics/Need-to-Know’s: Please wear loose, comfortable clothing. Yoga is done without shoes (and, preferably, without socks). Please bring a yoga mat if you have one. Other props (highly recommended but not mandatory) include two yoga blocks, a yoga strap, and a firm blanket.

TRX (Grant)
Level – All
Thursday 5:00 pm

Hang from the durable TRX ropes to push, pull, lift and lower your body through Spiderman moves for a total body suspension workout that also super-strengthens your core. You’ll rotate circuit training style between the TRX and other boot camp style drills. This class is on level B1 in parking coverage – outside, but under cover.

Fridays
Pilates – Class 2 (Carol)
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Fridays 7:30 am

Sculpt and strengthen your core without all those boring crunches and sit-ups. This mat-based workout is designed to help participants develop leaner, longer-looking muscles, establish core strength and stability, and heighten mind-body awareness. Props may be incorporated to add variety. This class will leave you standing tall and feeling refreshed and in touch with your breath. Please bring a mat.

Women & Weights – Class 3 (Christina)
Level -- All
Fridays 4:00 pm

Get your heart pumping and muscles moving in this whole body strength and conditioning class combining weights, bands, balls and floor work to challenge the entire body.

If you are interested, you can learn about the cost of the classes in this post.