The Louisiana Hospital Association (LHA) announced Jan. 24 a new workplace wellness initiative for hospitals throughout the state.
The Smart Choices, Better Health Hospital Campaign is an LHA board-directed initiative that will be implemented in two phases over a three-year period. Phase one will focus on healthy eating, exercise and weight loss, and phase two will focus on smoking cessation.
According to Michelle Clement, the associate vice president of communications and public relations at LHA, participating hospital CEOs throughout the state appointed Campaign Champions, who attended an orientation in Baton Rouge. These representatives were given the training and resources needed to form a wellness team at their hospitals. The teams will implement hospital-specific worksite wellness action plans for their employees and communities.
“LHA will also send out quarterly updates and success stories to keep employees motivated and excited about this,” said Clement.
Over 100 hospitals formally committed to the Smart Choices, Better Health Hospital Campaign.
"The LHA created this campaign so that every hospital, regardless of type or size, could participate and have a positive impact on the wellness of their staff and communities," said Milton Bourgeois, LHA board chair and CEO of Ochsner-St. Anne General Hospital, in a press release.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, over 66 percent of adults and over 35 percent of children in Louisiana are obese. Also, over 22 percent of adults in Louisiana smoke.
"Smoking and obesity alone are major causes of health issues in Louisiana leading to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and premature death," said John Matessino, LHA president and CEO, in a press release. "They also increase healthcare costs by billions of dollars every year."
Clement said LHA is hoping the healthcare community in the state can set a good example for the rest of the community in leading a healthier lifestyle.
“Poor health leads to higher healthcare costs, so if we can set a good example by eating healthier foods and losing weight, we know we’re doing a good job,” she said. “We want this message to resonate to the general community.”
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) and the Louisiana Business Group on Health provided resources for hospitals to use in the planning and implementation of their programs.
"I have adopted the motto, 'Own your own health,' for both myself and DHH. This represents the importance of taking personal responsibility for the role we play in our own health outcomes," said DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein, in a press release. “It's great to see hospitals leading the way to improve the health of Louisianians.”
Clement said LHA plans on implementing policy changes on the foods served in its hospitals, as well.
“We’ll be working with culinary experts on serving healthier options for both patients and employees,” she said. “We also have created challenges for employees to lose weight, quit smoking and eat healthier. Everyone seems super enthusiastic so far about all of this.”
To learn more about the Smart Choices, Better Health Hospital Campaign, visit www.SmartChoicesBetterHealth.org.