On June 4th and 5th, Jay Seifert, co-founder of LoneStart Wellness, will present the LoneStart Employee Wellness Challenge to Llano Memorial Healthcare System employees. The program kicks-off the hospital’s own commitment to lasting, long-term health and wellness.
Kevin Leeper, CEO at Llano Memorial Healthcare System, says the LoneStart program is important to the hospital because it "promotes what we’re all about—taking a proactive approach to health and wellness. It’s about much more than just losing weight or exercising, it’s about our organization and our people making a permanent change in lifestyle."
The LoneStart Wellness Initiative is a behavior-based program that provides participants with the opportunity, information, motivation and support to achieve their healthy lifestyle goals, to overcome the inertia of inactivity, make better dietary choices and take charge of their personal health. It is a first step, a jumpstart, that changes the way participants think about their health and wellness, enabling them to go from negative, passive and frustrated, to positive, active and empowered. It is the first program of its kind that addresses the serious effects of obesity, overweight and lack of physical activity on our society and health care system—and proposes a strategy for real and lasting change based on individual choice and responsibility.
Leeper says, "Tying a wellness program to individual responsibility means everyone benefits—employees, families and patients. Absenteeism is reduced and the hospital’s overall healthcare costs are reduced. Everyone wins."
While most LoneStart participants are motivated to lose weight, this is much more than a diet or weight loss program. It is the first step to long-term, sustainable health and wellness. The Initiative focuses on how fundamental changes in dietary choices and level of physical activity can produce real and perceptible improvements in health, energy levels, sense of wellness and appearance. It is based on established principles of social psychology and social psychophysiology and is designed to enable the participants to recognize their motivational triggers, build momentum and increase confidence through day-to-day, moment-by-moment choices.
According to Seifert of LoneStart Wellness, "The LoneStart Wellness Initiative is personally challenging yet realistically achievable. It requires only a small commitment of time and effort but a major commitment to self. We address the important issue of individual and organizational wellness with a proven and proactive, cost effective, turnkey initiative that presents a positive strategy and creates the expectation of success on the part of the participants. It’s a small-step challenge to long-term success. The program focuses on lifestyle changes that change lives."
"This is an opportunity for us to not only reinforce our role as the wellness resource in our community, but to make an investment in our most important resource, the employees and staff of our hospital," says Leeper.For additional information, please contact Mary Rhodes at mrhodes@llanomemorial.org or call: 325-247-7824.You can also visit the LoneStart website at www.lonestartnow.com.
