Small Steps Toward Big Health Changes

Free health coaching at Duke empowers a staff member to run 5Ks and take charge of wellness

A portrait of Rachel Orr, as she stands in a wooded area wearing race medals
After Rachel Orr began working with a health coach through Duke’s employee wellness program, she started running 5Ks and obstacle course races. Photo by Travis Stanley

A couple years ago, Rachel Orr was going through a stressful period and wasn’t feeling good about her overall health and well-being. She wanted to make a change. Remembering how much she once loved running, she thought it might help to get back to that physical activity regularly, but she didn’t know where to start.

Orr, an Assistant Research Practice Manager in the Department of Psychiatry, signed up for health coaching from LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, and was paired with health coach Lisa Martin. The 12-week program is offered at no charge to Duke staff and faculty.

Orr and Martin met weekly and came up with a plan. They started with a small step of researching 5Ks in the area, progressing to signing up for a 5K and eventually setting goals for running lengths and times each week.

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“It was really great to have that support, that encouragement, that accountability person,” Orr said. “And it was like talking to a friend about how you’re doing.”

Crafting achievable goals and reaching conclusions as a team is what health coaching is all about, according to Esther Granville, LIVE FOR LIFE Program Manager.

“The definition of a health coach is that they are a partner,” Granville said. “The role of a health coach is to help a person really come to decisions on their own around what it is that they want to do, and help that person break down the change into small pieces that are realistic to achieve over time.”

LIVE FOR LIFE health coaches hold a degree in a health care field such as nursing, dietetics or exercise physiology, so their coaching can encompass a wide range of client goals – everything from improved eating habits and exercise routines to better sleep quality and managing stress.

To get started, participants submit recent biometric data from a doctor’s visit or health assessment that includes blood pressure, cholesterol and fasting blood sugar numbers. An initial meeting lasts about 60 minutes, and subsequent check-ins are 15 to 20 minutes. Most sessions occur on Zoom in a private meeting room with a coach.

Orr found that incorporating a running routine into her life with Martin’s encouragement improved her quality of life. She has graduated to goals that include bettering her 5K times and completing obstacle course races and sees results in improved sleep and stress levels.

“What we really worked out together is that there’s a really positive component between your physical health and your mental health that I think so many people overlook,” Orr said.

Now, through small, weekly goals, Orr feels like her overall health is better than ever.

“Those small steps turn into real and lasting change,” Granville said.

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