Baptist's BestHealth program transforms lives
How employee wellness programs can work for you
Aaron Jones, 45, moved to the Memphis area in February 2023 to begin his role as Baptist Memorial Health Care’s system director – talent acquisition. His wife and two sons remained in Illinois to finish the school year, so Jones lived in an apartment by himself until Memorial Day. He returned to Illinois on weekends, but the travel and time away from his family took a toll on him. He wasn’t eating well and didn’t know how to manage the stress.
He began feeling lethargic and had recurring headaches, so he made an appointment with Endocrinologist Dr. Shimon Harary, who diagnosed him with Type 2 diabetes.
Jones has a family history of diabetes and heart disease. His sister has Type 1 diabetes, his mother has Type 2 diabetes and both his grandmothers also had Type 2 diabetes. Jones’ father died from heart disease at age 63, and Jones received his diabetes diagnosis on the anniversary of his father’s death.
“That was the catalyst,” he said. “I knew I had to make some changes.”
Jones took advantage of Baptist’s BestHealth initiative, a wellness program designed to encourage and support team members in taking control of their health. Jones joined the weight loss management and diabetes programs.
By the time Jones had his annual wellness visit in September, his cholesterol and A1C were dramatically reduced — and he was just getting started. His LDL was 158 in June and dropped to 79 in just three months, and his A1C has gone from 8.7 to 5. He’s lost 45 pounds in the past year, and his liver enzyme aspartate aminotransferase (AST) went from 247 to 37.
“I’ve learned so much,” Jones said. “I attend weekly virtual meetings, and the leaders hold me accountable. They helped me recognize I’m a stress eater, so I needed to find other tactics to manage stress. A high protein diet has helped a lot, and I’ve learned about portion control.”
Jones attends 5 a.m. exercise classes at least three days a week, plus he coaches hockey and is on the ice a couple times a week. His wife, Nikki, joins him at the gym, providing support and accountability. Jones has burned more than 40,000 calories in his workout sessions.
BestHealthJones is not alone in his quest for a healthier lifestyle. Baptist's BestHealth program offers a wide variety of wellness programs at no cost to team members:
Baptist staff members are especially encouraged to enroll in the tobacco cessation program. Smoking is costly to a person's health and wealth, so Baptist has incentivized staff to take steps to quit smoking and improve their health. Employees must undergo an annual screening for tobacco use and either test negative or enroll in the five-week cessation program. By doing so, they avoid a tobacco surcharge of $100 a month. “Insurance plans for smokers cost an additional $1,200 a year,” said Lia Lansky, BestHealth’s chief wellbeing officer. “As a health care organization, we feel a responsibility to help our team members turn their health around. The financial incentives make people really think about it. We had 600 team members complete the tobacco cessation program in 2024.” |
Baptist launched the BestHealth initiative in 2017 after a wellness program through a third party wasn’t effectively helping team members.
“We were spending a lot of money on these resources with only 14% participation,” said Lansky. “We put a lot of thought into it and created our own program with incentives so we could really motivate our team to be proactive about their health.”
Baptist team members can earn up to $300 to shop in Baptist’s gift card mall for doing such things as getting annual biometric screenings and wellness exams. Lansky said 97% of employees get their biometric screenings, and 92% see a provider for annual wellness visits — all those costs are covered by Baptist.
Lia Lansky is BestHealth's chief wellbeing officer.
BestHealth has been so successful that Baptist now assists other organizations with their own wellness programs. Using claims data, health risk assessments and annual wellness visits/biometric screenings, BestHealth by Baptist helps organizations understand what’s driving the costs for their insurance plans. They can determine which health issues, factors and trends affect a company’s employee population to maximize health results and cost savings.
If employers can help their own people stay healthy, that’s important to their bottom line," said Lansky. "A healthy work force reduces absenteeism and keeps people engaged.
For more information about BestHealth by Baptist, please click here.
What do the numbers mean?An A1C test, also called hemoglobin A1C, measures the average amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood over the past three months. The result is reported as a percentage. The higher the percentage, the higher your blood glucose levels have been, on average. For diagnosing purposes, the scores are assessed by this scale:
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a type of lipoprotein in your blood. Too much LDL cholesterol contributes to plaque buildup in your arteries and can put you at a higher risk for stroke or heart attack.
Aspartate transferase (AST) is an enzyme that exists throughout the body. When cells are damaged, AST can leak into your bloodstream. A high level of AST can indicate a liver condition or heart problems. Determining whether an AST level is high is less straightforward than measuring LDL or A1C. Many factors influence a person's AST level, including age, race, gender, medications, diet, exercise and weight. AST levels may be higher after surgery, seizures or intense exercise. Pregnant women often have increased AST levels. |
