The Story of LoneStart Wellness

And how we’re making wellness viral

#MyStartupStory

Way back, in the beginning … The idea of LoneStart Wellness came

about as a result of some very powerful events—watching family members’

health decline, the avoidable death of a good friend, seeing so much

confusing and conflicting information about health, and a car breakdown in

the middle of absolutely nowhere (don’t ask).

It was a dark and stormy night… wait… wrong story…

“It’s impossible” said Pride. “It’s risky” said

Experience. “It’s pointless” said Reason. “Give it a

try” whispered the Heart. ~ Anonymous

Jay and I took our education, (his an

M.A. in social psychology from

Tulane University and mine, an M.S.

in allied health from Tulane), our

professional experience, and our

lifelong interest in good health, and

turned our focus toward wellness.This is us …

We are the two LoneStart Wellness

co-founders… Melinda West Seifert (me)

and Steven J. (Jay) Seifert.

(yes we’re married—to each other)

We had some savings (total

amount shown here) and a plan.

We spent the first year

developing materials for our new

Wellness Program.

The year: 2005. We had twin daughters in college, lots of expenses. But,

we had an idea for a new business … and, we had conviction.

We also had a number of people ask if we were crazy.

At the time, Atkins was all the rage.

Three cheeseburgers a day and steak wrapped in bacon for dinner? Excuse me?

That can’t be right. That’s not good.

There had to be a better way.

When Katrina struck New

Orleans, my video producer

brother, Glen West, and family,

stayed with us in Austin for

about 4 weeks. He produced

our first wellness introductory

video to go along with the

original (each hand punched

and bound, produced entirely

in-house, literally) workbook.

(We’ve come a long way since those early days.)

Using what we know about human attitude and behavior, we

experimented on our visiting family members.

We had the crazy thought that

despite what everyone else

was saying, all of us really

already had everything we

needed to live healthier lives.

This isn’t really Jay, but actually, his hair looks just like this …

Jay finally lost his extra 10 “Christmas Cookie” pounds. (Did you know just 3 Christmas cookies a day can add 1.5 pounds in a week?)

My sister lost the 60 pounds she’d gained with the births of her two daughters…

My then 80 year-old mother lost 10 pounds (just by doing one simple thing) …

My 47 year-old brother lost 18 pounds and was able to get off of his statin medications …

And, I discovered I could make time for and actually enjoy walking.

And, how did this experiment work out?

The “BIG” is what makes LoneStart different from other wellness programs.

LoneStart Wellness is based on established principles of social neuroscience

and behavioral economics, and what we know about team-building and small

group dynamics.

Whoa! We were on to something big!

Our operating premise became “that personally-relevant messaging and realistic expectations would result in positive, sustainable lifestyle changes.”

And, for an organization, that means healthier, happier, more engaged and more productive employees.

We sat down with our Family Practice doc (one of the good guys in medicine)

to tell him what we were up to. He was so excited he volunteered his patients

most at risk for type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other preventable

chronic illnesses for our “beta-tests.”

Based on our beta test successes, we then took our program to the Texas

Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH).

TORCH operates in about 150 rural Texas

communities that have a higher than average

incidence of preventable chronic illness, few

resources and are under-served by traditional

wellness providers.

This presented both a challenge and an opportunity.

“What one does is what counts, not what one had the

intention of doing.” ~ Pablo Picasso

In 2006 we began signing-up TORCH members and other hospitals.

Real Results with Real People!

Christina Benavides, Administrative Assistant at Otto Kaiser

Memorial Hospital, worked alongside with her father, a

Pharmacy Tech / Supervisor in his mid-fifties. Together they

were part of the LoneStart Wellness Initiative at Otto Kaiser.

Christina says she saw her father’s lifestyle totally change

before her eyes. During the 63-day LoneStart Challenge, he

lost 17 pounds and 2.4 BMI points.

“He is my inspiration, yet again,” says Christina.

We have lots of great stories like this one.

“What impresses me most is the fact that six years after we completed our

LoneStartNow Team Esteem Challenge, our healthier behaviors are still

evident. A new culture has taken hold here that is reflected in my hospital

kitchen, my bottom line, and in the lives of my employees and their

families.. LoneStart Wellness has never been more timely or more

important. It is the best investment I’ve ever made as a hospital

administrator.” ~ Raz Cook, FACHE, Administrator, ETMC Fairfield

And, Here’s a Real Testimonial

And, we have lots more of these too!

We became endorsed business partners for TORCH Management Services

Inc. (TMSI)

We became business partners of the National Cooperative

of Health Networks (NCHN)

We were selected by Texas AHEC East to provide wellness content for their 111 county healthy community initiative.

*Dr. Dee Edington’s findings in his 2006 study Association of Healthcare Costs with Per Unit Body Mass Index Increase. This study is broadly recognized as the industry standard, and using a population of nearly 36,000 employees, it showed that an individual’s body mass index (BMI) is highly correlated with medical and pharmaceutical claims costs. Even a slight decrease in an employee’s BMI of just one point is associated with a $202.30 decrease in medical and pharmaceutical claims costs over one year.

Here are some sample results from early Initiatives, 2006 -2008

*

At the time the average cost per participant was $50*

*

Those dreaded “Obstacles.”

But, along the way … we hit a few bumps.

The challenge was … how to get past them.

“Gee Rocky, maybe you can’t get there from here.” ~ Bullwinkle J. Moose

Credit cards were maxed-out.

Savings, life insurance and

retirement were cashed-in.

Money was borrowed

from family and friends—

just to keep things going.

This part was (is) NOT fun.

Who knew it would be so hard to “sell” wellness?

So, what’s the big deal about WELLNESS?

Why would we risk EVERYTHING to provide something a lot of people don’t even want (even when they need it most)?

?

?What keeps us going??

Today chronic diseases are responsible for more than half of all deaths in

the world and are projected to account for two-thirds of all deaths globally

in the next 25 years, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) proposes that

organizations have a clear interest in investing in wellness initiatives for

four major reasons:

Chronic disease drives healthcare costs. Productivity losses associated with chronic disease are even greater than the medical costs themselves. Workplace wellness efforts can positively impact human capital investments. Sustainability is threatened by the epidemic of chronic disease.

This… is what keeps us going

Researchers have recently concluded that an average population-wide

weight loss of 8 to 11 pounds (about 1.3 BMI points) could reduce diabetes

mortality by half, and chronic heart disease mortality by a third. (British

Medical Journal)

(This is BIG)

We know this is possible. We’ve been proving it for 8 years!

This is what REALLY keeps us going

Still More Obstacles …

We’ve learned to treat setbacks as guides, not brakes.

“The problem is not the problem. The problem is your

attitude about the problem.” ~ Jack Sparrow

In addition to being severely under-funded (mostly non-funded) we found that

in order to address wellness, we had to actually define it.

That’s not as easy as it might seem.

Wellness is like poetry.

Think of wellness as you would think of poetry.

While we can all probably recite a poem of some

kind, can we all define “poetry?” Probably not.

This is how wellness is like poetry.

They’re both abstract concepts.

?

Wellness is more, much more, and more

complicated than the absence of being ill.

It’s a state of being, a state

of mind, a state of change,

and it is very much a

lifestyle.

And, even more than a Return on Investment, they will see a Return on

Quality of Life (QOL). This leads to other significant changes within the

organization.

And, one of the greatest obstacles was convincing

employers that wellness really does matter, that they

can see a return on their investment, and that

preventable chronic illness is a problem that must be

addressed.

More on that to come …

We had to overcome what we call “wellness fatigue” and convince

employers that LoneStart Wellness is not the same-old, same-old, tired and

failed wellness program that only focuses on “diet and exercise.”

Our behavioral strategy helps participants create lifestyle changes that

change lives.

Wellness has to be moved from a “back burner” issue to an

organizational priority.

We knew what started as a good idea was turning into a great thing. Our

behavioral strategy was getting results.

But, we also knew that to create a sustainable

behavior change wellness model we needed a

better business model.

Some additional obstacles actually came from unexpected insights …

What have we learned?

“Do or do not. There is no try.” ~ Yoda

We’ve learned that we’re in more than the “wellness”

business. We are in the “engagement” business.

“ The world’s top-performing organizations

understand that employee engagement is a

force that drives performance outcomes. In

the best organizations, engagement is more

than a human resources initiative—it is a

strategic foundation for the way they do

business.” __Gallup

Engagement is the current business hot button.

We learned wellness is viral. But, …

What in the World is Viral Wellness?™

In any given social group, including

the workplace, we know that

behavior is contagious.

We say we all can—and must—help spread a new

wellness pandemic.

Do You Know . . . ?

“Your chances of becoming obese

increase by 57 percent if one of your

friends is obese, 40 percent if it’s a

sibling, and 37 percent if your spouse is

obese.” __Nicholas Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, and

James Fowler, PhD, published in New England Journal of

Medicine

So, behavior is contagious …

But, look at the flip side.

You are influenced by those in your

social network—but you also influence

others. And, you can do so

deliberately.

You can also look for opportunities to

nudge those around you into more

positive and healthier behaviors,

understanding that you will move in that

direction as well.

However, there’s a big difference between a “Nudge” and a “Shove.”

You can’t mandate a change of heart

and you can’t drag people kicking

and screaming into wellness …

But, you can provide them with the toolkit needed to mindfully moderate

lifestyle behavior choices.

We’re really good at this part.

(Unfortunately, most employers don’t understand the difference.)

More things we’ve learned … and want to share …

People want to be well—but, they must

be intrinsically motivated to make

lasting changes in lifestyle behaviors

(this pretty much rules out carrots and

sticks).

We’re really good at this part too.

It’s easy to get fit people to participate in a wellness initiative. The challenge is

to craft a message that will engage the 20 percent of any population who are

most at risk for preventable chronic illness. These individuals account for as

much as 80 percent of an organization’s healthcare costs and are the least-likely

to participate in traditional wellness offerings.

And, guess where things are headed?

LoneStart’s Team Esteem Challenge creates short-cycle, team-

building opportunities that improve communication and build trust

and cooperation. A “Me Problem” becomes a “We Opportunity”

when employer and employees join together in a common and

mutually beneficial cause—creating a new culture of well-being

within their organization.

Before you can get in shape from

the neck down, you have to first get

in shape from the neck up. (It’s a

“retrain your brain” kind of thing.)

Simply put …

This is not as easy as it might sound.

Most wellness programs underperform

because they fail to motivate and

sustain behavior change.

Employees have to believe the wellness initiative is being

done “FOR” them, not “TO” them. And they absolutely,

positively have to believe in their hearts two things:

This is worth it. I can do this.

And, the Ah-ha Moment …

And, because we focus on the nuts and bolts, we

don’t have to charge that much to do what we do.

After 8 years “in the trenches” we saw a lot of money spent on

traditional diet and exercise programs designed with lots of bells and

whistles. But, they’re expensive, a burden to administer, and they lack

the nuts and bolts necessary to change behavior.

Think of us as the Nuts and Bolts guys.

(We may be inexpensive, but we’re not cheap.)

Here we are today…

We’ve come a long way, but, we’re not there yet …

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” ~ Jonathan Swift

We have an Advisory Board. (They’re a bunch of good eggs.)

Ann Weber, P

hD, Johns H

opkins Todd Buchanan, MDKinnie Parker, MPH, CHES

David Butterworth, CSCS

Becca Gray, RD, CD, CNSD

Linda Jones, MSPH

Jay (co-founder & Honcho)

Me (I snuck myself in)

Who is this guy?Our Accountant, Frank(poor Frank)

We’ve added a client portal to our website.

We’ve expanded our program to a 12-month Initiative, with

wellness modules, e-presentations—and more!

We’re getting better at “selling” the benefits of wellness with a more targeted message …

But we’re still struggling to find a way to reach

a wider audience. If we can make a difference

in rural Texas, we know can make a greater

difference through employers everywhere.

And, fortunately (or unfortunately), the need

for what we offer is rapidly expanding.

We offer a well-conceived, clearly-defined behavioral strategy that

engages both employer and employees in a shared, positive,

transparent and non-punitive initiative, one that delivers multiple

benefits beyond cost savings, including improved morale,

communication, engagement, and productivity.

This is our USP

… by reframing the entire “wellness conversation” so it is

non-judgmental, positive rather than negative, focuses on

processes rather than outcomes, and carefully manages

expectations. We create an environment that fosters well-

being, so healthier behaviors can be learned, adopted,

shared and sustained.

And, this is how we do it…

If you’ve made it this far, thanks. And, if you want to find out more, here’s our contact info:

Or, just give us a call: 512.894.3440

www.lonestartnow.com

P.O. Box 1188, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620

This may be the end of the presentation, but we’re just getting started.