Printer-friendly format

Tackling the comprehensive issues of obesity is not a task for healthcare alone.

In a high-risk city that is constantly rated as one of the unhealthiest in media reports, it takes the effort of the entire community to make significant progress.

Since 2003, the Healthy Memphis Common Table (HMCT), a non-profit regional health and healthcare improvement collaborative for the greater Memphis area, has cultivated an alignment of coalitions between healthcare providers, educators, businesses and non-profits with a variety of endeavors to create and promote a healthier community. The efforts at partnership between businesses and healthcare providers have been gaining momentum. From no-smoking laws in workplaces, to healthier menu options in local restaurants, business and healthcare are partnering to make a greater impact.

“Doctors, hospitals and businesses realize we depend on each other,” said Denise Bollheimer, vice president of marketing and managed care for HMCT. “We all benefit when patients take better care of themselves.”

A major partner with HMCT assisting businesses in developing and maintaining their healthcare benefits and programs, is the non-profit Memphis Business Group on Health (MBGH). In addition to helping members choose effective healthcare coverage for their employees, MBGH helps members design preventive strategies to improve overall employee health. Some of the preventive programs used by members include making healthier foods available at meetings, in cafeterias and in vending machines, offering incentive programs for exercise and weight loss, holding health fairs where employees can undergo health screenings, offering worksite gyms and Weight Watchers meetings. MBGH members are typically businesses with 150 employees or more and include companies like Smith & Nephew Inc., First Tennessee Bank, and Kemmons Wilson Inc. among others.

“Employers have an opportunity to influence and impact employee health,” said MBGH CEO Cristie Travis. “We help them develop strategies for worksite wellness – campaigns, newsletters, health risk assessment.”

Travis said they also stress to members the importance of providing access to biometric testing and offering clinical information to the employees through nurse call lines and wellness Web sites.

“It gives feedback to the employee about health issues and (allows) the employers to track (information) and strategize wellness programs,” said Travis.

He explained that employees are usually a company’s greatest asset, and an employee that is happy and healthy is a better, more productive employee. Healthy employees don’t require as many doctor visits and thusly, don’t drive up healthcare costs. Plus healthier employees can also mean lower health benefit costs for employers.

“If we could get more businesses to make decisions to work with employees around health and wellness initiatives, it would help create a healthier labor force,” Travis said.

There are many restrictions in the community that impede health, Bollheimer noted, and daily life is divided between home, work and other activities. Doctors can advise a patient to diet, but circumstances in that patient’s life may make it difficult to do so. Not everyone lives in a neighborhood that has a fresh market or fitness center nearby. In fact, the infrastructure of the city is not always friendly to outdoor physical activity like biking and running. Realizing these limitations in the community is vital to induce change.

“Doctors can’t do it alone,” Bollheimer said. “They can’t influence health and healthcare all by themselves.”

The business community has responded with more companies making health a part of their basic business model. One local heart clinic has teamed up with HMCT and the Memphis Restaurant Association (MRA) to develop a healthy menus program for Memphis restaurants.

Memphis Heart Clinic partnered with the MRA in May 2007 to launch the Heart Builders Program, an initiative that works with local restaurants to place heart healthy items on their menu. Currently Huey’s, D’bo’s Hot Wings, Garibaldi’s Pizza, and Elfo’s Italian restaurant are involved in the program with expansion to more Memphis-area restaurants in the works.

As part of the program, Memphis Heart Clinic provides participating restaurants access to its team of cardiologists and a registered dietician. These professionals evaluate existing menu items to identify heart healthy menu items or create news ones to add to the menu. Eating a heart healthy diet, explained Candace Slattery, program coordinator for Memphis Health Clinic, consists of balancing portion control, sodium intake, fat and saturated fat intake and caloric content.

Lauren Boggs McHugh, president of operations for Huey’s, explained Huey’s involvement in the Heart Builder Program was in keeping with their business plan to have a broader appeal to people concerned with healthier choices.

“Customers are influenced by what is available to them. By offering customers and employees various options, we give them the freedom to make choices about what they eat,” McHugh said. “We care about the health of the people we impact. If customers see a trend toward healthy options and choices, it may inspire them to take the initiative to make choices that have a long range effect on their health and well being.”

Among other items, Huey’s has created the “trimmed down Huey burger,” which is a smaller portion of meat and seasonings on a wheat bun with low fat condiments. Garibaldi’s marked items heart healthy that they currently have on the menu like Italian spinach and small spaghetti. Elfo’s pink peppercorn salmon in orange sauce with asparagus, or D’bo’s grilled fish sandwich are examples of items approved by the program. So far, the restaurants have received positive responses from customers.

“A large part of the Heart Builders Program is creating the awareness that our community can make a difference by taking action,” Slattery said. “Focusing on preventative measures like diet and exercise can change our lives for the better.”



January 2008

Tags:

None

Login and voice your opinion!