“Wellness” means something different to everyone.  Bottom line, if there’s even one area of a person’s life where he/she is not fulfilled, it’s likely impacting overall well-being.  Many experts in health and wellness are advocating for integrating coaching techniques into programming to not only impact behavior change but also to provide results in many areas of life.  Coaches elicit better thinking, which helps people have a better life and produce results. Coaching is not about solving problems but about moving people forward and past areas where they may be “stuck.”  

The Lifestyle Makeover Program is a pilot program designed to put coaching into practice and to see what happens.  Five employees have been awarded the opportunity to have a truly individualized, integrative program designed to help them work on what is most important to them.  The key to this program is thorough screening and assessments and weekly Intrinsic Coaching™.  Funding for the project comes from a $1,000 donation from LifeScan Stand Up MRI and a $500 award the HealthyU – Your Pathway to Wellness(sm) program received in May 2005 when it was named the winner of Hennepin County’s annual Health @ Work award.

How the Program Works:

The participants initially meet with Julia Bartlett, DC, director of Northwestern’s University Health Services, who will conduct an initial general health screening and assessment of each participant. The screening includes baseline measurements of waist/hip, weight, body mass index, body fat, blood pressure, and a fasting lipid profile to assess total cholesterol, HDL/LDL, triglycerides, and glucose levels.  These assessments will also be measured at the mid-point and upon completion of the program. Participants then meet with Paul Ratte, ND, a naturopathic practitioner at Northwestern’s Natural Care Center at Woodwinds, for a nutrition consultation and guidance. Then they will have individualized programs designed for them by Rosie Ward, MPH, CHES, health and wellness director, and will receive approximately $300 to help offset any costs associated with improving their overall wellness and will engage in weekly Intrinsic Coaching™ sessions with Rosie Ward.  The scholarship aspect of the program will be a partnership between the participants and HealthyU – Your Pathway to Wellness(sm) where the participants and the program share any costs.  The program is designed to ensure participants are learning to take ownership for making lifestyle changes.

To engage the community in this effort, participants’ overall progress (including successes and challenges) will be anonymously followed and highlighted through this website.  If this programming approach proves to be valuable, it will be expanded in 2006 to include more participants.  In addition, we will look at ways to expand the use of coaching with our other wellness programming efforts.

Learn about the benefits of working with a coach.