Comments on: how can you eat just one cookie?!

By: fran

fran — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:10:51 +0000

steve, thanks so much. love that — jockey boxes on an org chart. exactly!

paul, some companies are working their vendor relationships to truly integrate and orient from the user’s perspective, but definitely not enough.

crystal, super! my work here is done

thanks for reading and sharing back, everyone.
f

By: Crystal Peterson

Crystal Peterson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:15:42 +0000

Hi Fran – great post. Thank you for sharing. This post is one I will remember as we discuss our wellness strategy. “Addressing the whole person” and remembering that we’re “dealing with people with real histories and very real struggles” – so important!

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:38:38 +0000

Thanks for sharing your story & your candor. I know that a “real” wellness program has to take into account the whole individual, their past, present & future to be truly affective. It’s a shame that most of the information about Wellenss Program that I come across only focuses on an individual issue…BMI (really?), smoking cessation, etc. These issues receive mass endorsement. But I am not yet convinced that they have long term benefit. If you are not focusing on the whole individual, it’s like a putting a bandaid on a patient that is hemorraging.

By: Steve Boese

Steve Boese — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:26:19 +0000

Thanks for sharing these stories, and beyond that, showing us how important they are and how we all should be mindful when we jockey boxes on org charts, or casually make changes in policies and programs that we are profoundly affecting real people with real concerns. Fantastic post.

By: fran

fran — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:48:45 +0000

greg, it’s hard to know where that line is for health businesses and certainly for companies, as long as we have our u.s. employer-provided benefits system. in general, i believe it goes back to the individual’s readiness. and their having and knowing about appropriate resources when they are ready. as for the daughters, i hear ya!

thanks, my friend.

By: Greg Matthews

Greg Matthews — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:47:32 +0000

Fran, I have to confess that my first reaction to reading your personal story was fear. Fear of the responsibility that we in the health business have never to cross the line with our well-being advocacy. Fear that I won’t set the right example for my own daughters.

We can talk about healthy weight, healthy nutrition, the obesity epidemic in the US. But none of those things can make one iota of difference to an individual who’s making decisions every day that affect their health.

My company has been making significant investment in behavioral health services … a part of the “whole person” that we hadn’t focused on in the past as much as we should have. As a person who considers himself your friend (although we’ve never met), your article makes that investment a personal commitment for me.

My fear – a healthy fear (no pun intended), I think – must translate into resolve, and my resolve into action. Thanks for the reminder.

By: fran

fran — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:45:51 +0000

frank, laurie, and lisa. i hesitated before clicking that publish button, but was encouraged by my sister’s sense that others would relate and respond. thanks for reading and commenting,

By: Lisa Rosendahl

Lisa Rosendahl — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:16:17 +0000

Fran, thank you for sharing. Others will learn from your candor and your daughters, well, they have an amazing role model in you.

By: laurie ruettimann

laurie ruettimann — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:10:56 +0000

Frank, what a moving post. Thank you.

By: If You Read Only One Thing Today, Read This | KnowHR Blog

If You Read Only One Thing Today, Read This | KnowHR Blog — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:43:58 +0000

[...] Do yourself a favor and read Fran Melmed’s wonderful article “How Can You Eat Just One Cookie?“ [...]