More than 140 health care professionals attended the 3rd annual HASC Health Care Provider Wellness Conference to explore wellness and benefits programs that work to alleviate the costs of health care and combat the effects of poor health on productivity, job satisfaction and care quality.

Themed “Wellness, Work & Community: Strategies for Sustainable Cultural Change,” the conference attracted c-suite and frontline staff from health care facilities in California, Louisiana, Iowa, Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Washington and Canada. 

“I was interested in the latest practices. We have a robust program already,” said Kelly Mather, CEO, Sonoma Valley Hospital. “The industry has finally moved to population health and I’m excited about it. Wellness has been a passion of mine since 1996.”

A cross section of speakers with varying perspectives on the impact wellness can have on employees and the community at large were featured:

Lee Dukes looked at the impact of generational differences on behavior change; Tim Newman explored patterns of employee engagement; Tammy Green addressed the value of fully integrating wellness programs into an organization; Tom Parry offered pragmatic applications of key population health metrics; nutrition experts Gary Taubes and Peter Attia, M.D., presented the science around diet and obesity; Dr. Philip Hagen and Rick Hecht provided an insider’s view of successful wellness programs from the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente; Dr. Antonio Linares presented information about healthy aging; and BJ Bartleson and Gail Blanchard-Saiger took a brief look at health care worker fatigue. The event closed with a mock trial led by Christopher Scanlan and his associates with the audience as jurors.

A unique aspect of the conference is the incorporation of physical activities that engage attendees and demonstrate the value of exercise. Mission Valley YMCA led the Zumba Fitness activity that opened the event and the run/walk around the city on the final morning of the conference. 

Melanie Cumbee of MemorialCare provided an afternoon activity that got everyone involved in four fitness stations—hula hoop, balancing with Frisbees, tossing beach balls and working with stretch bands—demonstrating quick, nontraditional activities attendees can use at the worksite.

And in what is becoming an event tradition, organizers hosted a dinner at a local restaurant for conference attendees where they enjoyed tapas and Salsa dancing lessons.

“What impressed me most about this conference was the degree of networking that I witnessed,” said Hamilton Mears, Wellness Plan Administrator for Scripps Health. “I am convinced that a great deal of new collaboration will emerge as a result of the conference. By the end of the conference I got the sense that the audience had become a single community, collectively resolved to tackle some big problems.”

Thank you, sponsors, for your generous support of this event. The 4th annual Health Care Provider Wellness Conference will be held June 12-13, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. Reserve the date and visit www.hasc.org/2014WellnessConference.