Innovation in Prevention Awards Gala

Thank you, Dr. Roper. And thank you, Dr. Rosenfeld, Father McClosky, Michael Ryan, and Patti LuPone for making this evening so special.

I would especially like to thank the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health for cosponsoring this dinner with the Department of Health and Human Services. Susan Davis did a wonderful job planning this event on behalf of the Foundation. I know that the Foundation is very grateful to its major donors, which include the American Association of Health Plans and the Health Insurance Association of America, The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and the Rodale Companies.

I'm grateful to the Partnership for Prevention for recommending worthy honorees for this award, and for setting up a distinguished panel of experts to help the Partnership. And Bill Roper led the way.

And I'd like to thank everyone here for helping me to recognize some wonderful, responsible, compassionate organizations. I can't tell you how grateful I am to all of you for encouraging healthy habits wherever you go.

We have some distinguished guests this evening, including:

• Governor Kempthorne of Idaho

• Claude Allen

• Julie Gerberding

• Mark McClellan

• Richard Carmona

• Betty Duke

• Charlie Currie

• Carolyn Clancy

• Christi Beato

• Former speaker Tom Foley

• Representative Danny Davis

• Former representative John Porter

• The gymnast, Kerri Strug

• The swimmer, Donna deVarona

• Karen Ignani

Several CEOs, including:

• Dick Davidson of Union Pacific

• Bill Weldon of Johnson & Johnson

• Betsy Holden of Kraft

• Steve Reinemund of Pepsi and the CEOs of many health care and trade associations.

• The CEO of Coke is out of the country, and Coke is represented tonight by the senior vice president for Global Public Affairs, Clyde Tuggle.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, on Monday, President Bush signed the modernization of our Medicare system into law. This law provides prescription drug benefits for our seniors. They will appreciate the new choices and better benefits. But this law also moves our health care system from a focus on treating disease to a focus on preventing disease. Our doctors won't be satisfied just to keep people alive; they will also keep them well. From now on, we will measure success not by the absence of illness, but in the quality of life.

If you think about the factors that make up our quality of life, so many of them are related to health: energy, longevity, mobility, absence of pain, a strong body, and a healthy family. When we lose any one of these things, we miss it and want it back.

The bad news is that preventable chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, overweight and obesity, and tobacco-related illnesses can diminish all of these aspects of our quality of life. And worse: chronic illnesses cause seven out of ten deaths in America.

I'll say it again: Seven out of 10 deaths. Can you think of any other cause of death that - if it caused 70 percent of our deaths - we would stand idly by and let it happen? More important, can you think of any other cause of death that we as individuals would allow to claim our lives and the lives of our loved ones?

But the good news is: it doesn't have to be this way.

Diet, physical activity, screenings, and avoiding risky behaviors can prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and many other leading causes of death and disability. Americans who eat right, exercise, and get their screenings enjoy greater health and happiness well into old age.

Personally, I have lost more than 15 pounds. Do you know how good it feels - how much more energy and stamina I have each day, now that I'm not lugging around the equivalent of a bowling ball all the time?

Think about it: How tired would you be if you had to carry a bowling ball around with you all day every day? And how good would it feel at the end of the day when you get to put it down?

Well, my friends, that's how I feel since I lost weight. And many of you in this room know exactly what I'm talking about.

And I appreciate the Senate showing an interest with the anti-obesity bill they passed yesterday.

With Christmas, New Year's, and other holidays coming up, with parties every night and our families gathering together for festive meals, many of us will be tempted to eat more than usual-and to eat richer foods than usual. It's O.K. to enjoy them, but after you're done, get up, go outside, and take your family for a nice walk. Try to take 10,000 steps a day. Wearing a pedometer can help you keep track of them. The words to keep in mind are moderation and balance. I'm not telling you to give up eating or to run a marathon. I'm just saying: keep your life in balance. Exercise and a good diet make us feel lighter and happier very quickly.

Americans spend 1.4 trillion dollars on health care each year. 75 percent of those dollars are spent treating chronic diseases. If they had practiced healthier habits, Americans could have saved a great deal of money-and they could have spent that money on other priorities.

So a major question facing every American is: how will I lead my life? What habits will I develop?

We can't be neutral. If we haven't made an effort to develop the right habits such as exercising more and eating healthier, chances are good that we're practicing the wrong habits. And the same holds true for organizations. Whenever I talk to employers or insurers or food producers, I tell them, if you haven't made an effort to make your policies consistent with healthy habits, chances are you're leading people down a different path.

That different path can be tasty. I come from a state that likes to fry things and has yet to find a dish that couldn't be made better with cheese. I assure you I understand the pleasure that can be found in a hearty, calorie-laden meal. No matter how pleasurable the mouthful feels, it will never feel as good as being thin.

I also have a newfound appreciation for the consequences and the need to enjoy meals and snacks in moderation. We all have loved ones who suffer from diseases that are largely preventable. My own father had diabetes. He was died from a heart attack associated with diabetes. Many of my friends have had heart attacks. Many more suffer from asthma.

Once I saw firsthand and understood the pattern that caused all this destruction, I wanted to stop it whenever I saw it. And I still do.

If you and your family practice poor habits, you're susceptible to chronic disease. You'll pay in reduced quality of life. You'll pay in shortened life span. You'll pay in out-of- pocket medical expenses. You'll pay in the time you spend at the doctor and in bed when you're sick. You'll pay in less time with your children. So when making decisions for yourself and your family, once you know the facts about improving your health, you'll realize you can't afford not to.

These economic effects also apply to corporations. Most corporations, as you know, offer their employees part of their compensation in the form of cash, and part in the form of a health insurance premium. And, if you talk to senior management of corporations in almost any industry about their biggest concerns, as I have, over and over you hear about rising health care costs. The more expensive health care is, the harder it is to compete with foreign competitors.

I released a report in September that showed that health promotion is part of a wise business strategy. Let me quote:

"The costs to U.S. businesses of obesity-related health problems in 1994 added up to almost $13 billion, with approximately $8 billion of this going towards health insurance expenditures, $2.4 billion for sick leave, $1.8 billion for life insurance, and close to $1 billion for disability insurance."

On an individual level, it costs an average of $2650 to insure an American without diabetes for a year. It costs $13,243 to insure an American who does have diabetes.

That's why employer spending on prevention is a wise investment that pays off. It pays off in lower health care expenses. It pays off in lower absenteeism and higher productivity. And we encourage all employers to make this investment so that they may reap big returns for a long time. Some organizations think that if they've complied with laws and regulations and survived for another year, they're doing all they need to do. But others aren't satisfied getting by-or even getting ahead. They do get ahead, but they also want to make the world better.

We are gathered tonight to honor organizations that are serious about their duty to the people they serve. They show compassion and innovation. They looked closely at how their practices affect people's health, and they developed creative ways to improve them.

We want every organization of every size to encourage healthy habits, and these eight are leading the way. Tonight, we are thanking them for the great good they have done. We are also holding them up as models to others. And they serve people in both ways.

On cloudy nights on the Great Plains, a single campfire gives warmth and vigor to those gathered around it, and guidance and inspiration to distant travelers passing by. My friends, these organizations are our campfires.

I would like to ask Bill Roper to help me present the Innovation in Prevention Awards.

• The winner in the category of a healthy workplace for a small employer is the Waco-McLennan Public Health District Worksite Wellness Training Program. 40 of the District's 72 employees participate in the worksite wellness program. They are paid an hour a day to exercise and record their activities.

  Accepting the award for the Waco-McLennan Public Health District Worksite Wellness Training Program is Kellie Edmond.

• The winner in the category of a K-12 school program is the Healthy Kids Network. The Network brings together parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members to educate them about the importance of a quality school health program. Healthy Kids Network communications give members the skills and resources to foster changes that strengthen programs and policies in their local schools.

  Accepting the award for the Healthy Kids Network is an officer of the American Cancer Society Board of Directors, Dr. Mark Clanton.

• A winner in the category of a healthy workplace for a large employer is Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific's Health Track program works to identify possible at-risk employees and give them intervention programs, company-sponsored exercise opportunities, and general health education and disease management.

  Accepting the award for Union Pacific Railroad is the CEO, Dick Davidson.

• The winner in the category of a non-profit program is Campuses Organized and United for Good Health, of the California Youth Advocacy Network. It provides technical assistance and training to tobacco control agencies working with young adults 18-24 years of age and to agencies working on college campuses.

  Accepting the award for Campuses Organized and United for Good Health is the College Project Coordinator of the California Youth Advocacy Network, Kimberlee Homer.

• Another winner in the category of a healthy workplace for a large employer is Johnson & Johnson. The Johnson & Johnson employee health and wellness program integrates disabilities management, employee assistance, occupational health, fitness, and work-life services. The program covers more than 47,000 domestic employees, and has caused health risks among employees to decline for 8 out of 13 categories examined.

  Accepting the award for Johnson & Johnson is the Chairman and CEO, William Weldon.

• The winner in the category of a faith-based organization is the Church Health Center. The Church Health Center opened "Hope and Healing," an 80,000 square foot state-of-the-art prevention and wellness center. With it, they help more than 5,000 people every month participate in the program. 70% of these people live below the federal poverty level.

  Accepting the award for the Church Health Center is their Executive Director, Dr. Scott Morris.

• The winner in the category of a public sector program is the Seattle-King County Healthy Homes Project. The project uses community health workers, who provide information, resources, and support to families. Of the first 138 children enrolled, the project has helped reduce the number of days they have asthma symptoms by 60 percent and the proportion of children using emergency health services by 64%. Community health workers have now served more than 500 families in the Seattle area.

  Accepting the award for the Seattle-King County Healthy Homes Project is the Chief of the Epidemiology Planning and Evaluation Unit, James Krieger.

• The winner in the category of a health care delivery system program is the Southeast Kentucky Community Access Program, or SKYCAP. SKYCAP hires and trains "patient navigators" who help care for uninsured and underinsured rural families. In the first three years of the program, the navigators helped more than 9,000 patients get access to over 87,000 services.

  Accepting the award for SKYCAP is the Director of the University of Kentucky Center for Rural Health, Fran Feltner.

Congratulations to all the winners.

In a speech in 1783, George Washington told his fellow Americans,

And you will, by the dignity of your Conduct, afford occasion for Posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to Mankind, had this day been wanting, the World had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.

My friends, we can't perfect human nature. But we can help each other to live better and healthier lives. What Washington called "the dignity of our conduct" can make a difference. By our examples, by our policies, by our gentle encouragement, we can help our families, our employees, and our neighbors to be stronger and happier. And wherever we have the chance to do good, we also have the duty. These great organizations took that duty seriously. And we all profit by their example.

Thank you, and enjoy the evening.

Last Revised: December 11, 2003