Pre-Registration for Commit to Fit! Six Weeks to Wellness Business to Business Challenge Begins April 1st

The Commit to Fit! Six Weeks to Wellness Challenge is a six week business-to-business challenge that encourages employees to represent their organizations by practicing healthy behaviors and promoting health to others. It is available free-of-charge to all Genesee County organizations interested in bringing wellness to the workplace and participating in a little “healthy” competition.

The Six Weeks to Wellness Challenge will run from April 16th to May 25th. Pre-registration of teams and individuals begins April 1st on www.commit-2-fit.org.

Additional details of the challenge follow:

Participants & Teams will Earn Commit to Fit! Wellness Points to
Facilitate Business vs. Business Competition
-Individuals sign up as part of a business or organization on www.commit-2-fit.org to track “Wellness Points” for a variety of activities that include being active, eating healthy, promoting health to others, and more…
-Goal for each participant is to earn 5,000 total Wellness Points over the six week challenge
-Points will be earned for physical activity, fruit & vegetable consumption, hydration, weight loss, participating in wellness teams, and communicating about health
-All teams and participant tracking will contribute to the Business-to-Business competition

Business-to-Business Competition & Rewards
-Participating Business/Organization Teams will be rewarded with trophies, recognition, and other incentives including $2500 in cash raffles, fitness memberships, pedometers, and more…
-Genesee County businesses will compete amongst one another in the Large Business Division (100+ employees) or Small Business Division (10-100 employees)
-Organizational rankings will be posted weekly and at challenge completion
-Individual incentives for tracking wellness activities will be provided weekly and at the end of the challenge; Participating in healthy challenge activities around fitness and nutrition will also yield incentives

Fun & Healthy Challenge Activities will be Offered
-Free, Fun, and Healthy Fitness & Nutrition Classes will be held weekly at no cost as a resource to individuals interested in learning more about improving their health behaviors
-Work together daily with your team members to compete against other businesses

Greater Flint Health Coalition Team Becomes Part of the Elite Group Participating in “Collaborate for Healthy Weight,” a Groundbreaking Initiative to Improve Obesity Prevention and Treatment in Local Communities

With obesity levels in the U.S. at all-time highs, Genesee County healthcare leaders are working together to make local improvements through “Collaborate for Healthy Weight,” a national effort to reverse the epidemic through innovative local partnerships between primary care providers, public health professionals, and leaders of community-based organizations. Genesee County is one of 50 locations across the country that has been chosen for this groundbreaking program that will bring solutions to the local community and share strategies on a broader scale. The effort is being led by the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ), in partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

“We are delighted that NICHQ has selected our team from Genesee County to participate in this initiative based on our solid commitment to achieving healthy weight and improving health behaviors in our community,” said team leader Kirk Smith, President and CEO of the Greater Flint Health Coalition. “We look forward to improving outcomes locally as well as sharing what we learn in this project with communities in other areas of the country.”

Along with the Greater Flint Health Coalition, the cross-sectoral Genesee County team also includes representatives from the Genesee County Health Department, Genesee County Medical Society, Hamilton Community Health Network, Mott Children’s Health Center, and the Genesee County Great Start Parent Coalition.

This project will focus on improving the health status of all Genesee County residents, where approximately 70% of the population is either obese or overweight. This builds on local initiatives of the Greater Flint Health Coalition including its County Health Rankings Action Plan and the Commit to Fit! Campaign, each of which was launched in 2011 with a ten-year focus on improving health status and health behaviors in Genesee County.

The 50 teams from across the country participating in the Collaborate for Healthy Weight initiative will learn from national experts, exchange ideas, and create plans for becoming best practice models for other communities to follow. The project will run through February 2013. To see a complete list of participating locations, go to: www.collaborateforhealthyweight.org/About/Collaborative/Meet-the-HWC-Team.aspx.

“Obesity constitutes a grave threat to the health and well-being of our nation, with a particularly strong impact on diverse and disadvantaged communities,” said Charles Homer, MD, MPH, president and CEO of NICHQ. He continued, “We are so proud of these communities that are laying the groundwork for tackling this complex and serious issue. As their work gets underway, these efforts will make a huge difference in the lives of children and their families across the nation.”

Commit to Fit! 3-Ton Healthy Weight Loss Challenge Reflects on its Achievements & Successes

The Commit to Fit! 3-Ton Healthy Weight Loss Challenge focused on celebrating healthy living and community unity in the New Year. Men, women, and families throughout Genesee County united in efforts to accomplish a single cumulative goal – total 3 Tons of healthy weight loss in a two month period.

Through fun health activities, personal commitment, and collective support, the community successfully lost 5279 lb. While this is just short of our 6000 lb weight loss goal, this Commit to Fit! activity was success in many ways and demonstrates how this community can come together to improve our health. In additional to the successful collective weight loss, there were additional success stories and achievements highlighted below:

WEIGHT LOSS

  • 798 Participants lost weight during the challenge
  • Average weight loss per participants was 2.88 Lbs
  • 179 Participants lost 10 Lbs or more
  • Over 500 Participants lost 3 Lbs or more

FITNESS & NUTRITION CLASSES

  • The free Commit to Fit! Fitness & Nutrition classes were a great success in providing participants an opportunity to healthy activities in the winter months
  • About 30 participants attended each class including Zumba, Resistance Bands, and Nutrition Education
  • Stay tuned as these will return this spring as part of the 6 Weeks to Wellness Business-to-Business Challenge
  • Thank you to all who participated in the Commit to Fit! 3-Ton Healthy Weight
  • Loss Challenge – a successful community-wide effort in improving our overall health.

Visit the “My Challenges” page on www.commit-2-fit.org to continue to Commit to Fit! through the upcoming 6 Weeks to Wellness Challenge! Pre-registration begins April 1st.

Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities (FHEO) Program grant boosts efforts to help Genesee County workers succeed in healthcare careers

The Greater Flint Health Coalition’s Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities (FHEO) Program, a Flint-area program designed to help workers embark on careers in the healthcare industry received an important boost recently, thanks to a one-year grant totaling $125,000 from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC).

The FHEO Program helps low-income and dislocated workers in Genesee County obtain the training, education and experience necessary to meet the employment needs of the local healthcare industry. The program also helps to create sustainable employment and promote career advancement for participants by working with healthcare industry employers to restructure their hiring, retention, and promotional practices.

The program was launched by GFHC in 2002 and has helped more than 600 area residents receive healthcare career training.

“With this grant, the FHEO Program will continue to enroll new residents, provide health care career paths for existing clients, and collaborate with local health care employers to ensure training efforts lead to sustainable employment,” said Kirk Smith, President & CEO. “This would not be possible without the vision and generous support of the C.S. Mott Foundation.”

More information about the FHEO Program, including eligibility criteria and an online application, is available at www.gfhc.org/fheo. The next FHEO Program entry-level training cycle begins in April.