Is your practice ready to get serious about wellness? If so, re-read the post linked above, poll staff about which health and fitness goals they’re most interested in, determine a start date for your program, and then make it stick throughout 2012 by following these guidelines.

Encourage office-wide participation. Hopefully, not everyone in your office needs to lose weight, stop smoking, and reduce their cholesterol numbers, but it’s likely that everyone in your office could benefit from improving their health and fitness in at least one area. Your wellness program will be more sustainable over time if the majority of your staff participates. It is especially helpful for practice administrators, department managers, and, yes–even doctors–to take the lead and set a good example by choosing at least one aspect of the wellness program to engage in.

Set up incentive programs that include both short-term and long-term rewards. If six of your employees declare weight loss as their goal, arrange for rewards to be given throughout the year. You might offer cash bonuses (e.g., $5-10 per pound lost) divided equally among the six employees based on their collective weight loss each month, paid hours off calculated at the end of each quarter for each individual’s weight loss, and one big celebration or group outing at the end of the year if weight loss goals are achieved.

Hire a professional. Visit the International Coach Federation’s Web site to find an experienced wellness coach in your area who can work with your staff as a whole, in small groups, or even one-on-one. Having an objective professional on your wellness program team will increase accountability and the odds that employees will be successful in achieving their goals.

Go public. If employees agree–and only if they all agree–consider going public with your program as a way to draw attention to the fact that your practice is serious about health and wellness. Doing so sets a good example for patients and builds in accountability for staff. The way you go about making it known to those outside your immediate circle will depend on how open everyone is willing to be about their goals and progress. You might put up a small poster in the office with photos of staff along with quotes by each of them about why they’re serious about health and fitness or what they hope to achieve. You could post updates on your practice Web site or in your patient newsletter. If you really want to tell the world what you’re up to, notify the local media about doing a story on your wellness program.

Good luck making 2012 the year that you and your staff achieve your most important health and fitness goals.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women (lung cancer is first). Every year, almost 40,000 women die from the disease. National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is celebrating 25 years of bringing attention to this all-too-common illness, and throughout the month of October you can expect to see lots of pink ribbons (and even pink-streaked hair!) everywhere you go.

If you’re so inclined, you can raise money to fight breast cancer using your feet by signing up for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (www.avonwalk.org) or the Susan G. Komen 3-day for the Cure® (www.the3day.org). Both events involve walking fairly long distances (39 and 60 miles respectively) over two or three days and getting pledges for your effort from family and friends. Participants can trek as individuals or form teams to increase motivation and add to the fun factor. If you can’t walk yourself, ask around and you’ll likely find someone you can sponsor who is participating in one of these national walks (they’re both held in multiple locations around the country). Many communities also host shorter, local fundraising walks to raise money for breast cancer. Check your local paper to see what might be happening in your area.

Depending on your specialty (or perhaps if you have a staff member who has experienced breast cancer) you might enjoy investing in some special promotional items this year. Medical Arts Press® has many pink-ribbon logo office supply items from which to choose.

For both staff and patients, check out www.nbcamproducts.com to find pink ribbon logo tee-shirts, tote bags, water bottles and much more. A portion of each sale goes toward breast cancer education. Another site with an abundance of pink is www.shopkomen.com, where you can find educational materials in addition to unique wearable and gift items (they even have something for your dog).

If you’d like to inspire your staff to do something this October to help raise awareness about or money for breast cancer, take a quick break and gather everyone around the computer screen. Click on www.pinkglovedance.com. Scroll down and watch one of the Pink Glove Dance videos that have become a national sensation. Be sure to have the tissue box handy – you’ll need it.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, which creates mixed emotions for me. I believe everyone has the right to smoke if that’s what they choose to do. I, however, would have loved to spend my childhood and adulthood with my grandmother, who died from lung cancer when I was 3. She never got to meet my husband or my son. My only memory of her is in a hospital bed, very sick… and dying. My grandfather hid me under his overcoat because that was the only way I could sneak into her room and say goodbye without the nurses seeing me.

How can you help before you lose someone close to you?

Educate – Make sure they know the facts.
According to an article on Medicalnewstoday.com, “Smoking and tobacco use are the leading cause of preventable death in the US. An estimated 438,000 people in the US die prematurely from smoking or secondhand smoke exposure, with an additional 8.6 million having a serious illness caused by smoking.” It’s unfortunate and sad to me that this is the leading cause of preventable death. 

Raise awareness – Help the cause.
The Lung Cancer Alliance has several ways you can get involved in your community, including ideas for sponsoring events in your area and providing information to the media. It’s a great way to get information to the public and try to raise awareness. There are other options, too, like donating time and money to fundraisers such as the American Lung Cancer Association. Do a Google search and I’m sure you can find something to donate to.

Help – Get them the help they need.
I’m sure you have heard of several different ways to quit smoking. There are pills, patches and gum, and then there are things that don’t cost money, like just stopping cold turkey and dealing with the withdrawal. Some people switch to “light” cigarettes, thinking they won’t get as much nicotine. However, people often end up smoking more to make up for it.

What you really can do to help is be there for them. Let your friends and family know you will stick by their side and do anything to help. You’ll slap them on the hand if they reach for a cigarette, you’ll lock them in a room so they can’t get a cigarette, you’ll bring them ice cream (it does make everything better) – you will do whatever it takes to keep them in your life as long as you can.

I hope this brings a little more awareness to the statistics, and maybe even inspires you to get out and show your support for all those that are still trying to quit, and for those who have quit.

- Jessica

Did you know that November is Healthy Skin Month? To spread healthy skin awareness, I’ve compiled advice from four medical experts on how to treat and protect your skin.

Don’t smoke. “Quit smoking or, better yet, don’t even start! More and more young people are smoking and doing so to relieve stress, but it’s bad for your skin and causes wrinkles. Deep-set wrinkles will appear around your mouth from puckering, your skin will be dehydrated and dull, and you may experience premature aging.” — Flor A. Mayoral, MD, FAAD, clinical instructor, departments of dermatology and cutaneous surgery, University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

Use soap only on select areas of the body to avoid dryness. “Unless you have really oily skin, because you are a teenager or work with oils or gases, you do not need soap to get yourself clean. Pure water does the job to get you clean. However, you do need to use soap on your face, under your arms, and in the groin area. As you get older, the use of soap on the rest of your body can unnecessarily dry your skin.” — Brian B. Adams, MD, MPH, FAAD, associate professor of dermatology, University of Cincinnati; director of dermatology, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Wear sunscreen. “Use sunscreen every day, preferably one with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15 that provides broad-spectrum protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Today, many skin care products contain sunscreen and are multifunctional, which allows you to get many skin benefits from one application. This saves time and money. For example, to protect and maintain healthy skin, use a daily facial moisturizer containing sunscreen. You also can find body lotions that contain sunscreen. These products can help hydrate and protect your skin, especially areas of your body that are sun-exposed throughout the day – like your hands.” — Sandra I. Read, MD, FAAD, instructor of dermatology, Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Your skin reflects what you eat. “What you apply to your skin helps give it a healthy, radiant glow, but remember what you put into your body is just as important. A balanced diet rich in vitamins and antioxidants can make a real difference in the appearance of your skin.” — Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University; clinical assistant professor of dermatology and associate faculty, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Take the advice from the experts above and keep your skin healthy this month, and always.

We can’t avoid aging (at least not yet), so why not work with aging to make it a positive and healthy experience? That’s the idea behind Healthy Aging Month, created 10 years ago by Educational Television Network and now promoted by

So, encourage your older patients to stay active. A daily 30-minute walk through the neighborhood with a friend or group of friends is a good way to strengthen bones and muscles and combat cabin fever. Encourage patients to strengthen their minds and beat boredom by learning new things, reading, and doing puzzles. Financial health is important for older patients, too, especially for those living on a fixed income. But getting financial advice from their doctor might be a little awkward. If there’s financial stress, make sure it doesn’t become a health concern.

What are you doing to celebrate Healthy Aging Month?

-Erin

According to HealthWord Online, this week was designed to raise awareness of the benefits of therapeutic massage, and to encourage individuals to care for their health through massage.

I love getting massages and have found that several insurance companies now cover them if you go to a doctor’s office and not a spa setting. The nice thing about getting a massage at a chiropractor’s or doctor’s office is that if they notice something wrong with your back they can look into it while you’re there.

I think you should all take time out of your busy day to get a massage, or at least take a nice hot bubble bath!

-Jess