HealthMiles Blog

Pin on Your Pink Ribbon Spirit

Everyone is going pink this October for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So take some time to learn the facts from the American Cancer Society.  
 

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a malignant (cancer) tumor that starts from cells of the breast. It is found mostly in women, but men can get breast cancer, too

How many women get breast cancer?

The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States are for 2010:

• About 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women
• About 54,010 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be found (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
• About 39,840 deaths from breast cancer (women) Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer

Lowering your risk:

You can lower your risk of breast cancer by changing those risk factors that are under your control. Women who limit alcohol use, exercise regularly, and stay at a healthy weight, have a lower risk of getting breast cancer. Women who choose to breast-feed for at least several months may also reduce their breast cancer risk.

Not using hormone therapy after menopause can also help you avoid raising your risk. It's not clear at this time whether chemicals that have estrogen-like properties (like those found in some plastic bottles or certain cosmetics and personal care products) increase breast cancer risk. If there is an increased risk, it is likely to be very small. Still, women who are concerned may choose to avoid products that contain these substances when they can.

Finding breast cancer early:

It is also important for women to follow the American Cancer Society's guidelines for finding breast cancer early.

So, what's the pink ribbon all about?

Pink Ribbon International is a not-for-profit organization that raises  worldwide awareness for breast cancer; providing information, resources, support and guidance for patients, caregivers, providers, and all persons whose lives have been affected directly or indirectly by breast cancer.

Show your support and get active this month.  You can find a local Race for the Cure^® in your area if you'd like to raise money for a good cause.

Today is Family Health and Fitness Day!

If you need another excuse to get out and get active this week, today is Family Health & Fitness Day USA.

The 14th annual Family Health & Fitness Day USA is a national health and fitness event for families, set for Saturday, September 25, 2010. (always on the last Saturday in September.) The event's purpose is to promote family involvement in physical activity, one of the goals of the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.

The Health Information Resource Center (HIRC) lists consumer health information programs and organizes the event, but check out your local resources to find out about events in your area. So get out there and get active!

Eye on Wellness honorable mention: Amy Crumbaugh, P.E. Teacher

Health and wellness have always been important to Amy Crumbaugh, a physical education teacher at Bridgeport Elementary School in Frankfort, Kentucky. She holds a master's degree in physical education and health and has grown to be an avid runner, participating frequently in mini marathons.

Amy is being recognized as an Eye one Wellness runner up because of her strong leadership, beliefs, motivation and devotion to promoting health and wellness throughout the Bridgeport Elementary School community.

Her passion for wellness inspired her to seek out ways to help her peers lead healthier lives. She launched a pedometer-based fitness program for the teachers and staff at Bridgeport Elementary School as well as coordinated the opening of a staff fitness/work-out room. Additionally, Amy was the mastermind behind kicking off a school-wide Jump Rope for Heart campaign geared toward students, as well as helping organize a student jump rope team and performance troupe.

Since Amy launched these wellness programs for Bridgeport’s staff, employee morale has increased immensely. Teachers and staff report they are thoroughly enjoying the program and are often asking each other if they've met their "steps" for the day. Amy continues to be a wellness cheerleader for her colleagues, sending emails to the entire school when a staff member runs a race or applies themselves in a health-related activity. An added bonus of Amy’s initiatives is that students have become more aware of their daily activity levels and have a better understanding of how fitness is a key factor in living a healthy life.

2010 Eye on Wellness Award Individual Winner: Mark McIntosh

The Eye on Wellness awards recognize both an organization and an individual who’ve shown to be outstanding wellness advocates and excellent role models for others.

Dr. Mark McIntosh is a role model for wellness. As both an emergency medicine physician for the University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville, and director of the Employee Wellness Program at University of Florida & Shands Jacksonville, Mark uses each interaction with both patients and employees as a way to educate and inspire others to become healthier. 

In a health care organization responsible for patient care, employees' lifestyle choices impact not only themselves and their employer, but also the lives of others. Mark has played a pivotal role in expanding his hospital's focus on wellness and formalizing a broad wellness initiative. He develops and delivers excellent, medically-based wellness programs for employees and has enjoyed success in helping them become more physically active, stop smoking and make better nutritional decisions. As a result, the organization has seen tremendous positive outcomes with employees changing their lifestyles. Employees recognize Mark as both a leader and “guru” of all things wellness. The demand for Mark to speak is well beyond the capacity he has to give of his time, but he always takes time to talk to employees and offer advice.

Mark's vision and leadership have helped to take the Shands Employee Wellness Program to new heights. His efforts enabled Shands Jacksonville to be recognized as one of "Jacksonville's 100 Healthiest Companies" and his passion for wellness makes him valued and respected by all levels of employees, including the hospital's president and the dean of the University of Florida Health Science Center Jacksonville.

When it comes to serving as a wellness advocate for his organization, Mark truly "walks the talk."

Get the scoop on our Eye on Wellness Awards and start thinking about who you'll nominate next year!

2010 Eye on Wellness Award Corporate Winner: CHW-East Valley

Chandler Regional & Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers (Arizona-based healthcare organizations and members of the Catholic Healthcare West hospital system) have put a focus on helping their employees enhance their personal and professional lives through a wide-ranging wellness program that gives the organization quantifiable insight into the impact and effectiveness of the initiative.

In 2006, these health care organizations recognized that a comprehensive, holistic wellness initiative was needed to enhance the health and productivity of its own 3,000 employees. They sought to provide employees with a wide-ranging program that would meet its wellness goals, as well as positively impact the utilization of its self-funded medical plan.

The organization wanted to implement a program that would be fun and motivational yet goal-oriented to align with its philosophy that employees who are satisfied physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially will live fuller, more purposeful lives.

So CHW-East Valley rolled out a prevention-focused wellness program not only to benefit from a more healthy, productive and engaged workforce, but so that its own health care costs could be better managed by preventing the onset of a variety of lifestyle-related health conditions like type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Want to read more? Here's the full story.

Get the scoop on our Eye on Wellness Awards.

National Employee Wellness Month Starts Today!

June 2010 marks the second annual National Employee Wellness Month, an initiative designed to help raise public awareness about the benefits of workplace wellness and how prevention in the workplace can help to improve health and combat our nation's rising healthcare costs.

More than 80 organizations and over 20,000 of their employees have shown their support of the initiative and will participate in a nationwide 3-week GoZone step challenge, which kicks off today. 

Learn all about National Employee Wellness Month, hear what employers and employees are saying about prevention in the workplace, watch the daily challenge rankings, and check out some members we've highlighted at www.nationalemployeewellnessmonth.com.

Challenge spotlight: Steppin' at the State Fair

The marketing division of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture held a Steppin’ State Fair Challenge in August 2009 which lasted the duration of the Kentucky State Fair. The division is responsible for a variety of duties at the fair including organizing livestock shows; fruit & vegetable, commercial wine, and forage competitions; and managing a farm safety display.

So, they organized a HealthMiles Challenge to track - and put a positive spin on - all their activity during the event!

All 13 participants received a certificate with their total steps taken and HealthMiles earned while working the fair, and ribbons went to winners. At the rewards ceremony (a healthy potluck party!) everyone also received a copy of the challenge poster:

Kristen B wrote: "We just appreciate the opportunity you guys have given us… not only for the health part of it but for the camaraderie. When we had our healthy potluck to give out the awards, we had several [non HealthMiles members] that came by and asked why we were excluded them. We promptly said that they needed to sign up and be involved. It was great."

The gang plans to run another challenge during the 2010 State Fair, and they expect to have more competitors next time around since the number of HealthMiles participants in their division has jumped!

National Employee Wellness Month Challenge Recap

For the last 3 weeks, HealthMiles members in the National Employee Wellness Month Challenge have walked around the world 60 times! A big thank you to all participants for helping to demonstrate how important it is to get out there and get active.

The folks at Fyda Freightliners certainly did their part – they held the first place spot the whole time. Congratulations to Fyda for winning the challenge! Team members from this Ohio-based freightliner dealership included mechanics, administrators, and sales representatives, and they hustled for 3 weeks straight! Matter of fact, their team members averaged over 14,000 steps per day for all 21 days of the challenge. Congrats, Fyda!

A few states away in Wisconsin, Shawano County and The School District of Menomonie battled for the second and third place spots throughout the challenge. In the end, it was The School District of Menomonie who took second place. A huge congratulations to both contenders.

Actually, a huge congratulations to all competitors! The challenge was a great success:

• 17,717 of us took almost 3 billion steps, which translates into about a million and half miles traveled. On foot.
• The average challenge participant walked about 84 miles in 3 weeks, averaging a little over 8,000 steps per day.
• That last fact is great news – it’s a little more than the amount of activity that we’re supposed to get to be healthy!

Stories are pouring in about the experiences of those of you in the challenge. We love hearing from you; please keep them coming (send them to stories@virginhealthmiles.com). For their outstanding effort, Fyda Freightliners will receive a check for $1,000 to donate to the charity of their choice. Congratulations to Fyda, and to all of our participants for helping to raise awareness about the importance of workplace wellness during the first-annual National Employee Wellness Month.

September is "National Employee Wellness Month"

In partnership with The STOP Obesity Alliance (www.stopobesityalliance.org), we've declared September as National Employee Wellness Month!

It's an annual event designed to raise awareness about the benefits of workplace wellness and to educate business leaders and employees about how they can take steps to create healthier and more physically active workplace communities.

Over 60 organizations and 17,000 employees have shown their support of the campaign by participating in a nationwide GoZone step challenge.

Watch the daily challenge rankings, learn all about National Employee Wellness Month, and check out some members we've highlighted at www.nationalemployeewellnessmonth.com

Then watch our CEO Chris Boyce in his Fox Business News interview, which aired today!