Dr. Roizen, Regina Brett and What I Learned at the Cleveland Clinic

Three days at the Cleveland Clinic (CC) for the 'Empathy and Innovation Summit'. There's a trend in health care organizations to create an office or a position focused on the 'patient experience'; CC is in the forefront of this movement.  PE is a highly evolved construct for customer service, and encompasses the environment (art and architecture), caregivers who are carefully selected, trained and focused on the patient; and a holistic view of patient care and treatment that considers the patient AND family.  It's been awhile since I have been to any sort of conference and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this one.  I learned a lot that can help me do my job better; and a lot that can help me live my life better too.  Some of you may remember that the CEO of Cleveland Clinic, a cardiologist, made headlines a few years ago when he tried to kick McDonald's out of the first floor of the Clinic.  He lost that battle; apparently McDonald's was perfectly happy to stay where they were not wanted since they have a long-term lease.  The Cleveland Clinic does not hire smokers; they are in the minority of hospitals.  They have a major employee wellness initiative and another one aimed at the community, 'Let's Move It.'  All of this makes great sense to me.  The conference had two terrific keynote speakers, one of whom I will write a whole post about, Regina Brett (author of 'God Never Blinks' , a book I highly recommend) and Robby Benson.  The panel moderator for the final segment of the conference was MIchael Roizen, M.D.  I had seen him a few times on Dr. Oz with whom he co-authored YOU: On a Diet.   Dr. Roizen is the CC's Chief Wellness Officer, another role found in forward thinking organizations.  It's always tough to be the last presenter at a conference but he made it worthwhile.  Dr. Roizen is passionate about wellness and about the compelling business case for it.  With all the talk about health care reform, the fact that healthcare costs are largely driven by obesity, tobacco use, stress and inactivity sometimes gets lost.  I bought his book and he was kind enough to inscribe it personally when I shared with him that I had lost 25 pounds and have 25 more to go.  The inscription ends, "Go For It!".  He was also kind enough to pose with me for the photo above.  A lot of the tips in the book are things that I already know, but one of them is so practical I would like to pass it on.  We all know that we should read labels, but he and Dr. Oz prescribe avoiding ANY food with ANY of the following five ingredients:  "simple sugars; enriched, bleached or refined flour; all syrups, including high fructose corn syrup; saturated fat or trans fat." He talked about the importance of managing the environment.  And the conference planners certainly did that.  Food and beverages are not allowed in the Conference Center lecture halls.  All the meals and snacks were healthy and delicious, making it easier for attendees to make good choices.  The hotel and Clinic gift shops did the same.   His advice is that we make "living healthy automatic."  It's so much easier when the environment is supportive.