When Wellness Programs End, Employees Keep Going
Creating lifelong commitments to health
Every year, thousands of faculty and staff make life-changing decisions with the help of personalized coaching from LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program.
From losing weight and quitting tobacco to learning how to start an exercise routine, Duke employees are offered free ways to reach individualized health and fitness goals.
Read More“We realize that every employee has his or her own routine and goals, which is why we have a dozen services and programs that offer a variety of wellness options,” said Julie Joyner, manager for LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program. “The things we provide are often the start of a journey toward better health.”
For many Duke community members, running a race or losing weight is just the beginning of a lifelong commitment to health, using skills and techniques taught by LIVE FOR LIFE staff.
Born to Run
Until the summer of 2003, the longest Jill Chaskes Foster had ever run was one block. "I was one of those people who would see a runner and wouldn't get it," said Foster, staff assistant in the Department of Biology. "Why would you subject yourself to that on purpose?" But with a yearning to get more active and prodding from her husband, Matt, Foster joined Duke's Run/Walk Club in 2003. It allowed her to ease into an exercise routine and offered strong social support. By the time she completed her first session of the 16-week program (now 12 weeks), Foster was able to run for six consecutive minutes and completed a Duke Recreation 5K race in 38 minutes. When she got pregnant after her first session with the club, she walked with the group until close to her delivery date. Between responsibilities as a new mom and a second child three years later, Foster didn't return to the Run/Walk Club until 2008. But she didn’t give up exercise, reusing handout tips and other Run/Walk materials.
"Life may have gotten in the way, but I learned to love running because of my initial experience," Foster said. "I love how easy it is that when I have free time, I can walk right out my door and go." Today, lessons from the Run/Walk Club continue to influence her health and wellness goals. She tries to run on her own two or three times a week and aims to participate in two 5K races a year. "It's given me a new kind of life skill I can keep going back to," Foster said. "I will always have the confidence that I can get on track without too much effort." A Final Goodbye to Tobacco Growing up in a household where both parents smoked, Claudia LeBarron's fate was predetermined.
"At the age of 16, it was kind of like, 'here's a pack of cigarettes.' Back then, it was very acceptable," she said. That was 1965, and she smoked five or six Pall Mall Ultralight Menthol cigarettes a day for nearly 50 years, briefly quitting cold turkey during three pregnancies. It never stuck. Then in March 2014, LeBarron decided to make a commitment. Instead of lighting a cigarette when stressed, LeBarron ate raw carrots or apples. She also called LIVE FOR LIFE to sign up for the free tobacco cessation program, which provides personalized counseling sessions and discounted medication like nicotine patches to help Duke employees quit.
"I thought, 'you're a nurse and setting the example for patients,'" said LeBarron, 65, a clinical care specialist at DukeWELL, a free care management program for individuals with Duke Basic/Duke Select or Carelink-Duke Medical Home insurance. "I can't lecture them if I'm doing things they shouldn't be doing." After six months, LeBarron was done with cigarettes and saving about $80 a month between not buying cigarettes and paying the monthly surcharge for Duke employees who use tobacco. That money pays for trips to the Outer Banks and other waterfront locales in North Carolina.
LeBarron is now using her experiences to help patients. "I can relate to people who think they need cigarettes and help them quit easier," she said. "I believe it's about our mindset. We're better than a cigarette." The Right Price for Weight Loss It started with a free, 20-minute check-up. Ebony Bryant heard about a free roving LIVE FOR LIFE program called HealthCheck that was stopping at the School of Law in the winter of 2012. During that visit, she saw Duke nurses who took a variety of base-level health measurements. They told her she had high blood pressure and was classified as obese, weighing about 210 pounds at 5-feet-4-inches tall. On the spot, Bryant signed up for Pathways to Change, a free program to get her health issues in check.
"Free is a big thing for me," said Bryant, student services coordinator at the School of Law. "I was already paying for daycare for two children, so I was surprised I could have nutrition and fitness consultations, regular meetings with a nurse and I didn't have to pay for anything." The Pathways program helped Bryant set monthly goals for weight loss and exercise and long-lasting changes have taken hold in her daily activities. She's now better at portion control with her meals and is more active than ever. "They gave me a pedometer, and I started walking a four miles five times a week," she said. "The big thing now is the elevator. I rarely take it and always try to take the stairs, even if it's six flights." Bryant finished Pathways in 2013 and continues to use LIVE FOR LIFE programs to spur changes in her life. She joined the Run/Walk Club and also the Steps to Health program, which connects employees with a health coach three times a year.
"So far, I've lost 57 pounds, but I'm trying to keep going," Bryant said. "I attribute a lot of that success to my first consultation, but I've learned accountability to keep me on track. It's a personal journey."