Garland Wellness Initiative

Healthy Lifestyles Class > Garland Wellness Initiative

Garland Wellness Initiative

Goal: To prove that instructing individuals in how to have a healthy lifestyle and lose weight could enhance quality of life and save money.

Rationale: Everyone knows that health promotion is beneficial but because only “soft numbers” have been predicted in the past, the Garland Wellness Initiative sought to prove that the investment in wellness would more than pay for itself.

Process: Rick French, Benefits Manager for the City of Garland conceived the idea for the Wellness Initiative and teamed with Marcia Upson a Masters Degree prepared Nurse Practitioner, to teach 30 City of Garland employees how to have a healthier lifestyle and to lose weight. The Initiative received backing and support from The Garland Chamber of Commerce, funding from McGriff, Seibels and Williams of Texas, and Cigna Healthcare. Participants met one day a week on their lunch hour for five months.

Results: The program more than paid for itself with a savings of $683 per person.

The group lost over 764 pounds with an average of 25 pounds per person.
Reduction in Healthcare and prescription cost per person of one third.
Significant reductions in cholesterol of 20 points per person.
Meaningful reductions in blood pressure of 10 points for both the diastolic and systolic numbers
Of the 20 participants who were not exercising, 17 started exercising. 23% improvement in absenteeism from an average of 3.8 to 2.9 days.
Significant reductions in medical and lifestyle risk factors.

Participants in the Garland Wellness Initiative Reported:

Area of Improvement: Percentage of Improvement:

Lack of Exercise 53%

Energy Level 63%

Self Confidence 71%

Depression 62%

Diabetes 42%

High Sugar Intake 82%

High Caffeine Consumption 50%

Difficulty Sleeping 55%

Headaches 51%

Indigestion 68%

Login

Username:

Password:

Remember Me?

Sign Up - Forgot password?
Having Trouble?

Main Menu

Home
Naturally Slim Team
Topics Covered
Charts and Graphs
Success Stories
Physicians Speak
Dallas Doctors
How Does It Work
Latest News
Photos
Polls
Calendar
Links
About Us
Contact Us

Calendar

September '10

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30

Poll

How much H2Orange do you drink in a day?