Weight loss equals money, wellness at LUH program

Phlebotomist Deb Romero has lost 49 pounds since she started working on a diet and exercise program through the Longmont United Hospital employee wellness program.

Since she has just seven to 12 more pounds to go to reach her goal weight, Romero said, she chats with a wellness coach on the phone once a week to keep her on track to do regular workouts and eat more vegetables.

The coach suggests common-sense tips: step on a scale once a week instead of every day to avoid getting discouraged, and eat just one serving of something you love at mealtime, with the idea that you can always have another helping a couple of hours later if you’re still hungry. The tips keep Romero motivated.

“Initially, I needed that push. I wanted to say that I did what I said I would do,” Romero said. “Accountability is the biggest thing for me.”

So, for example, Romero got a reminder on her phone recently to cut restaurant portions in half and take half to eat at home later — just as she was headed out to a nice dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It worked, she said.

Employees who enroll in the program get cold, hard cash when they meet their goals: a $1,000 premium discount annually on their medical insurance.

The hospital recently received the Healthyroads Fit Company Gold Award from American Specialty Health Inc. in San Diego. About 77 percent of employees participate in the free wellness program.

Employees who participate get all of their blood work done once per year, personal health assessments, weight loss and fitness challenges, and stress-reduction and stop-smoking classes, among others.

If you’re an employer, know that if you start a wellness program for your employees, you’ll save an average of $887 per employee per year in health-care costs, according to a recent study conducted by Truven Health Analytics in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Emory University in Atlanta, and supported by American Specialty Health Inc.

Just in case you’re curious, the Top 10 risk factors that predict higher employee health costs, according to American Specialty Health, include: obesity, physical inactivity, depression, tobacco use, high blood glucose, high blood pressure, high stress, high total cholesterol, high alcohol use and poor nutrition.

Concierge service grows

A doctor in Louisville who practices concierge medicine continues to do well as a deadline approaches for the national Affordable Care Act.

Folks above a set income level who don’t have health insurance will be required to buy it or face penalties under the Affordable Care Act, which was approved by Congress in 2010. They’ll be able to buy health insurance from a state health exchange that is scheduled to start working on Oct. 1. They’ll receive monthly subsidies from the government as incentives in the first few years of the program.

Dr. Eric Mondrow has created a practice intended to insulate patients from some of the external pressures that come from insurance requirements, although most of his patients at Flatiron Premier Medicine have insurance, he said. “Concierge” medicine is a term most commonly used to describe a practice where doctors have more time for their patients.

Insurance might not be the overriding factor driving growth in his practice as much as patients feeling like they want to practice preventive health, Mondrow said. He compares concierge medicine fees to cable TV costs.

Mondrow said he sees about seven patients per day, whereas a typical primary-care doctor might see at least 20 patients per day.

“It’s really within reach for most people who find it to be a priority,” Mondrow said of the style of medicine he practices.

Mondrow said he also has a number of patients that he sees for free who wouldn’t be able to afford the fees. The practice has seen steady growth since 2009 when it opened, he said.

While he’s not sure how the Affordable Care Act might affect his business, Mondrow is relaxed about any possible changes.

“I transitioned to this in 2009 when things were at their worst,” Mondrow said.

Attack plaque with heart scan

Boulder Community Hospital offers a heart scan that measures the level of plaque in your arteries.

Measuring plaque is a good predictor of future heart problems; you might be able to prevent your own future heart attack.

In 2012, the hospital did 550 heart scans at two locations — the original hospital building at 1100 Balsam Ave., in Boulder, and the Community Medical Center at 1000 W. South Boulder Road in Lafayette.

It’s painless, it takes 30 minutes, and it costs $175. For more information, call 303-441-2170.

Beth Potter can be reached at 303-630-1944 or bpotter@bcbr.com.

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