What is Geaux Lite Louisiana?

1. Geaux Lite Louisiana Hospital Challenge Hospitals Working Together to Fight Obesity & Improve Wellness in Our State

2. What is Geaux Lite Louisiana? • Geaux Lite Louisiana is an initiative created by the LHA to address our state’s challenge with obesity. • It is a fun, 6-month competition in which hospital teams compete to get healthy. • The goal is to lose 200 tons (400,000 pounds) statewide! • This is not a typical six week challenge; 6 months allows time for real change. • Sponsored by LHA and its Member Hospitals

3. The Importance • La. is the most obese state in the nation.* • Obesity is costing our state lives and healthcare dollars. • Obesity leads to other health issues: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke & even some cancers. • According to the CDC, a 5 -15% loss of total body weight reduces some risk factors. *Source: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2013, a report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

4. The Importance • The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008, according to the CDC. • The medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of a healthy weight. • Reducing the average body mass index in La. by 5 percent could lead to healthcare savings of more than $3 billion in 10 years and $9 billion in 20 years.

5. F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2013 Source: A report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

6. 2013 Key Dates • Hospital Enrollment: Began Sept. 1 • Team Leader Orientation: Sept. 19 and Sept. 24 • Statewide Kickoff: Oct. 1 • Team Member Registration: Begins Oct. 1 (Ongoing) • Initial Weigh-ins: Begin Oct. 1 • Final Weigh-ins: March 1- April 1 • Winners Announced in April • Prizes Awarded in May 2014 during National Hospital Week

7. How It Works • This is a 6-month program. • We hope to recruit at least 100 hospitals. • Each hospital is a separate team, and individuals compete on hospital teams to try to lose weight in a healthy manner. • Each hospital will have one site coordinator called the “Team Leader.” • Each Team Leader will form a Challenge Crew to help with weigh-ins and ongoing motivation. • This is a grassroots program run by local Team Leader and their Challenge Crew members.

8. How It Works … • Participate for free • Prizes offered through the LHA Research and Education Foundation to encourage participation • Healthy tips provided along the way • One-stop website: www.GeauxLite.org • Includes Registration, Toolkit & Other Resources

9. Prizes Grand Prizes for Individuals (4 Individuals): • Prizes will be awarded to the female and male who lose the most weight by pounds and the female and male who lose the most weight based on percentage of body weight lost. • These four will each win a $1,000 VISA gift card and a Geaux Lite shirt. They will also receive a VIP invitation to the Geaux Lite Louisiana Celebration. • The gift cards will be given “to help with a new wardrobe after the major weight loss” or “to join a gym or invest in exercise equipment to stay healthy.”

10. Prizes Achievement Prize/Local Winners (1 Individual Per Hospital Team) • Each hospital that registers a team will have one winner. This is the individual on the hospital’s team (staff, family, friend, community partner, etc.) who loses the most weight based on percentage of body weight lost. • These individuals will each receive a $500 VISA gift card and a Geaux Lite shirt. They will also receive an invitation to the Geaux Lite Louisiana Celebration.

11. Prizes Hospital Grand Prize (4 Hospitals): • Four hospital grand prizes of $4,000 each will be awarded to the hospitals (one in each of four bed size categories) that have the greatest overall team weight loss based on percentage of body weight lost. • Bed Size Categories: Less Than 50 Beds; 51-100 Beds; 101-250 Beds; and 251 and More Beds • Each of the four hospitals will receive an invitation for one individual to represent the hospital at the Geaux Lite Louisiana Celebration.

12. Prizes Community Outreach Prize (1 Hospital): • A $1,000 prize will be awarded to the hospital whose Community Partners (local businesses and organizations) have the greatest overall weight loss based on percentage of body weight lost. • The hospital will receive an invitation for one individual to represent the hospital at the Geaux Lite Louisiana Celebration.

13. Team Leaders/Crew Members

14. Role of the Team Leader • Registers hospital with the LHA • Recruits Challenge Crew Members • Promotes contest and assists individuals with registration • Handles weigh-ins or oversees weigh-ins • Promotes program and weigh-in days • Ensures integrity of weigh-ins and confidentiality for participants • Enters data from weigh-ins via online database, including critical beginning and ending weights

15. Role of the Challenge Crew • Assists with contest promotion • Assists with weigh-in sites • Assists with weight data entry in the Geaux Lite Website • Create themes or activities to keep team members motivated

16. Getting Started • Recruit Your Challenge Crew • Staff who specialize in nutrition, exercise and weight loss (nurses, doctors, nutritionist, etc.); • PR, education and marketing staff; • Anyone passionate about health; • Community Partners (health clubs, health insurance provider, other vendors, local businesses, etc.); and • Auxilains and other volunteers • Decide days, times and locations for weigh-ins • Decide who weigh-in coordinators will be and instruct them using the weigh-in procedures

17. Getting Started Continued • Promote Weight-ins • Email Letter from CEO • Employee Newsletter • Posters • Paycheck Stuffers • Table Tents • Facebook/Twitter • Local Media • Begin recruiting hospital staff, family members, friends, and community partners to register for the hospital’s team at www.GeauxLite.org.

18. Teams

19. Teams • Hospitals must register with the LHA to participate. • A “hospital” is defined as any entity that is licensed as a hospital by the Department of Health and Hospitals. • Team members/individuals cannot be on more than one team. • Hospitals may have several weigh-in sites and/or crew members to manage team member weigh-ins. • Hospital Team Leaders and any Crew Members who have access to enter or edit data in the weight tracking database do not qualify for Grand Prizes for Individuals.

20. Teams • The LHA will also serve as a “hospital team.” • The LHA does not qualify for the Hospital Grand Prize or Community Outreach Prize, and LHA employees and their family members do not qualify for Grand Prizes for Individuals. • Hospitals can recruit Community Partners, which are local businesses. • Individuals who work for these businesses must register as a “Community Partner.” These Individuals are eligible for individual prizes. • There are resources for Community Partner Outreach.

21. Website/Registration

22. Registration/Website • Individuals must register at www.GeauxLite.org and select the hospital team they are representing. • Upon registration, individuals must accept the terms of participation and execute a waiver through a check box on the Geaux Lite website. • Individuals who do not accept the terms or agree to the waiver are not eligible to participate.

23. Registration/Website • A Results Page will list the current top five individuals from each hospital who are losing the most weight based on percentage of body weight lost. It will also display pounds lost for those top five individuals. • Individuals have the option to select “public” or “private” regarding the way their name will be displayed. • For masking option, the participant’s name will be kept confidential and only shared with the hospital Geaux Lite Louisiana Team Leader/Crew Members and LHA Geaux Lite Louisiana staff to determine eligibility for prizes.

24. Weigh-in Sites

25. Weigh-In: Dates • Team members will be asked to weigh-in at their hospital’s weigh-in site or a satellite site set up by the hospital beginning Oct. 1. • Final weigh-ins must be completed from March 1 to midnight on April 1. • Hospital Team Leaders have until April 4 to enter final weights into the Geaux Lite Website.

26. Weigh-In: Logistics • Provide a place for people to weigh-in on an ongoing basis. • Weekly or bi-weekly weigh-ins are encouraged to keep team members motivated, but are not required. • Team Leaders must pre-approve all weigh-in sites. • Hospitals are asked to host monthly weigh-ins and report the data collected by the hospital to the LHA. This allows the LHA to post stats on how teams are doing. • To qualify for a prize, an initial weigh-in and final weigh-in are required for individuals.

27. Weigh-In: Logistics • Weigh-in sites will be required to keep a record of team members’ beginning and ending weights using a weigh in log provided by the LHA as backup to the data system. • Crew members are asked to write legibly. • Weights can be entered to the tenths. If you do not have the capability to weigh to the tenths, then round to the nearest half pound. • Consider this when planning: If any team member cannot use a standard scale for the weigh-in, they are asked to call a weigh-in site in advance to check for special accommodations.

28. Weigh-In: Logistics • Participants need to wear normal business attire for weigh-ins. Bulky items, such as overcoats, purses, work boots, etc., are not allowed. • Keep weigh-ins consistent. If a participant wears shoes for the initial weigh in, then he/she must wear shoes for the final weigh-in. • The same scales should be used to weigh in and weigh out individuals (due to calibration). • Please be sure all information is kept confidential.

29. Weigh-In Sites • Information to Collect • Participants must sign a waiver before weighing in. Check the waiver column on the weigh-in log. • Use the weigh-in log to record the participant’s name, team and weight. Submit these sheets to the Hospital Team Leader as a back-up to the data system. • Information to Give • Give each participant a copy of the Official Rules/Guidelines for Participation, along with the BMI sheet.

30. Weigh-In Sites • Participants must first register at www.geauxlite.org before they weigh-in. • Weigh-in sites should consider making laptops available for team members to register. • Weigh-ins must be conducted during the official times for participants to be eligible for prizes. Weigh-ins preformed before or after the official dates are not allowed and will result in those participants’ totals being excluded.

31. Ineligible to Compete If you have enthusiastic staff members or volunteers who are not eligible to participate, encourage them to serve on your crew to help keep your team motivated. Ineligible: • No one under the age of 18 (This program is intended for adults.) • Those who are pregnant, or who become pregnant • Individuals with a BMI under 20

32. Weigh-Ins: Privacy • If possible, weigh in a separate room with a door or an area where the scales are not able to be seen. • If scales are in an open area, make every attempt to make the process very private. • Have crew members quietly tell the participant his/her weight or show the participant as they are writing it down. Be sure they cannot see anyone else’s weight. • Crew Members doing the weigh-ins may not share anyone’s weight, except with the Hospital Team Leader or another Crew Member assigned to enter the data into the Weight Tracking System.

33. Weigh-Ins: Photos • Participants are encouraged to take a before and after photo, as winners will be encouraged to submit these photos for the Geaux Lite Louisiana Celebration. • You may want to offer this service at your weigh-in sites. • However, winners are not required to submit a photo.

34. Tracking System

35. Weight Tracking System • Hospital Team Leaders will have access to the Weight Tracking System to enter team members’ weights. • Team Leaders can train Crew Members to enter this data. • Team Leaders and trained Crew Members will have access to the Weight Tracking System using the username and password given when registering on the Geaux Lite website.

36. Promote Your Weigh-in Site • Advertise your location and times so people will know where and when to weigh in and out. • You can designate the days and hours you will be doing the weigh-ins. • For public weigh-in sites, your dates/location will be posted on the Geaux Lite Louisiana website. • Team Leaders will need to enter weigh-in dates and times through the coordinator section of the website as dates get added.

37. Promote Your Weigh-in Site • For “private” or internal weigh-in sites (staff only), you will need to publicize your weigh-in information in the hospital as it will not be posted on the website. • Whether public or private, you can promote your weigh-in site and hours using the posters and other resources available in the “Team Leader Only” section on the Geaux Lite Website, www.GeauxLite.org.

38. Resources & OutreachPassword: GeauxLiteTeam

39. Online Toolkit Includes: • Official Rules • News Release Template • Sample Letters to Employees from CEO • Sample Employee Newsletter Articles • Sample Activities • Weigh-in Instructions • Waiver • Posters, Payroll Stuffer, Table Tent Downloads • Community Partner Outreach Materials

40. Outreach • Press Conference on Oct. 1 • Governor and mayors proclaiming Oct. 1 Geaux Lite Day • May have photo opportunities available for some hospitals • Ongoing Press Release Distribution • Website: www.GeauxLite.org • Facebook: www.Facebook.com/GeauxLite • Twitter: @GeauxLite

41. Ideas for Ongoing Motivation • Offer weekly/monthly prizes or drawings for your team members • Host a healthy cooking contest/employee recipe contest • Host a fitness event or walk • Offer a discount on employee health insurance if they participate • Offer heath tips in payroll stuffers • Run a public service announcement on internal cable systems and phone on-hold message

42. Ideas for Ongoing Motivation • Schedule educational sessions (e.g. Lunch and Learns) on fitness/diet activities • Announce and publicize a monthly health theme (e.g. on national health observance topics) • Include articles on exercise and healthy eating in your hospital newsletters • Provide stickers or pins for employee ID badges who participate in the challenge • Send weekly/monthly emails on healthy eating and exercise tips

43. Create YouTube videos with proper workout techniques/cooking techniques; Blog, Tweet, Facebook exercise tips/recipes Form exercise groups (e.g. running, biking, yoga, dance) Support company sports teams Encourage “walking meetings” Encourage stairwell use and incentives (e.g. “Avoid the Elevator Campaign”) Ideas for Ongoing Motivation

44. Offer onsite fitness and weight-management programs Offer individual counseling for employees trying to lose weight Form a support group to help employees who are trying to lose weight Subsidize registration costs for weight-management programs Ideas for Ongoing Motivation

45. Replace unhealthy vending machine snacks with healthy options Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at company events Provide information to employees about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria Hold low fat cooking demonstrations in cafeteria Offer kitchen area accessible to all employees Ideas for Ongoing Motivation

46. Monthly Themes

47. October: Make Healthy Food Choices Week 1: Drink More Water Week 2: Add More Fruits/Veggies Daily Week 3: Choose Fish and Lean Meats Week 4: Choose Whole Grains Week 5: Limit Sweets and Sugary Drinks November: Get Up and Go! Start Moving! Week 1: Plus 5 (start walking 5 minutes a day or add 5 minutes a day to your regular workout) Week 2: Take a Stretch Break Week 3: Get Moving with a Friend Week 4: “No Elevator” and “Park Far Away and Walk” Week Monthly Theme Ideas

48. December: Staying Healthy During the Holidays Week 1: Cut Out Alcohol – Make a “Mocktail” Cocktail Week 2: Prepare for Parties Week 3: Relaxation Week 4: Say No to Seconds Week 5: Brown Bag It January: New Year/New You Week 1: Think Wellness Not Weigh Loss Week 2: Set Reasonable Goals Week 3: Limit Problematic Foods but Don’t Eliminate Them Week 4: Have an Accountability Partner Monthly Theme Ideas

49. February: Love Who You Are Week 1: Reward Yourself With Non-Food Rewards Week 2: Go Dancing or Participate in a Fun Activity Week 3: Be Kind to Yourself – Only Positive Thoughts Week 4: Surround Yourself with Friends and Loved Ones March: Stay Positive & Celebrate Week 1: When You Fall Down, Get Back Up Week 2: Stay Away From Bad Influences Week 3: Donate your clothes that no longer fit because of your hard work, and vow to never go back! Week 4: Evaluate Your Goals and Make a Commitment to Stay Healthy Monthly Theme Ideas

50. Questions??? If you have a question or need more information, send an email to Michelle Clement at GeauxLite@lhaonline.org.