Travis County Commssioners Court
April 13, 2004
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Item 19
That item is number 10 -- 19. I have to get my eyes checked, I believe. The nine's are looking more like zeros.
>> maybe you need a wellness clinic.
>> discuss Texas roundup 10k on April 17, 2004, and Travis County's participation and receive update on Travis County wellness program and take appropriate action.
>> good morning, judge and Commissioners. We're pleased to be here today to bring you up to date on the wellness activities and program as well as the Texas roundup. And with me today are members of the wellness committee. And what i'd like to do is just step back a minute and look at what we've started, where we're at today. This all began with a direction from the court to establish a wellness program directed at the cost drivers in our health plan. The first step was to select a committee. And most of those are here in court today, identified by the challenge t-shirts --
>> looking quite well, I might say.
>> thank you. I want to call up lee mccormick. He's the one that designed these, and he did an excellent job. The committee members again are in the audience, most of them. There are a couple who are not, but we've worked with employees, we've worked with various departments, and today actually is the second anniversary -- second month from the date we had our health festival, which was February 12th. We think we've come a long way and we have a long way to go, but for our first health festival, that was February 12th, we had 750 attendees. We had 262 people sign up for walking and other projects, of which at least 30% participated initially, and 24% have participated ongoing. So we've had some reduction, but not substantial reduction. We've also had some results that -- jane? Where is jane? We had some results in tracking. The tracking has been probably the hardest aspect of the wellness program, but that's being worked on to develop an online tracker that employees can go into and enter their data and their activities so that that can be kept up with more efficiently. But if you'll look at the chart that was just handed out, jane can explain what that is. That's her group.
>> I知 jane frank, Travis County its. What you have in front of you is a six-week that is right on the 11:30 walking group. And what we've done here is, as you can see, the yellow on the very bottom is the average number of miles walked per person, and you want to use the numbers on the left side of the graph. The one up from there, the blue, the individual maximum miles walked for each week on a given person. And the third line is the total miles reported. And on that one you want to use the right column. As you can see, it completely went up. I was so impressed with this group. They stuck with it, they continued to walk, and it became a full-time job keeping up with them. So we have gotten a lot of results from this group. We've also got about five that are doing a regular workout. They keep us informed on what they're doing there. And a lot of people have e-mailed me with wonderful results of blood pressure going down, cholesterol going down, weight losses, and begging us to continue with the wellness group.
>> we've had a 3 d approach. We've had employees get off their did you have, get on your diet and reduce their drugs. So we're proud of the 3-d approach. It's been very successful.
>> the initial festival, February 12th, tnr had their satellite festival out on 620. That was March 10th. They had 70 people people in attendance. The most recent was April the eighth from the Travis County sheriff's office. And rick cos per is here to talk about that festival.
>> I知 rick cos per and I work for the sheriff's department out at the del valle facility, the training academy. We had our festival on April the eighth. It ran from 10:00 a.m. Until about 6:00 in the a evening. We had a couple of different sign-up booths out there. We had 76 sign up overall. The generic sign-in roster as you come in the door. Of those 76, 47 signed up for the walking programs and other initiatives. And I plan to get with jane and find out how she manage managed that group of people. Find out how to get the names off the list and actually generate walking groups and get people on the track. We had 94 people screened by the lion's club van. Out of the 94, we thought this was significant. 12 percent were out of bound on the hearing test. 23 were out of norm on the vision test. And 13 were out of norm on the blood pressure test. All of those folks were given the information and advised to see their personal physician to address those issues that were identified in the lion's club van. I知 going to meet with my internal committee within the sheriff's department, we're trying to get a location and we're going to shoot for next Tuesday to discuss plans for I am plenting the phase 2 of the county initiative. We have some special challenges at the valley in that because of our unique work situation we can't let everybody go at one time to attend classes and so on and so forth because of the security reason. So my internal committee on next Tuesday will discuss ways that we can implement that not only at del valle, but throughout the county at different campuses within the sheriff's department. And on Thursday I知 going to meet with the county wellness committee and report those -- that data to them.
>> thanks, rick. Again, we're kind of haphazard in how we're collecting our information now. It's been consistent in some areas, inconsistent in others. But we think we've addressed that. As I mentioned earlier, russell han at its and pbo have been working very hard to develop a tracking system that's very user friendly and I think that should be ready within the next few days and we'll be rolling out information on how to access that and how to use it. So we hope the collection activity improves our record keeping. The next festival we'll try to set up will be at the airport location. We're sort of waiting for election elections to ease off so they're not crunched with time. That's the next fast value that we intend to hold. Wellness projects were put together with various classes. We completed project one, which focused on again cost drivers and the health plan being cardio vascular disease, diabetes and we introduced employees to better nutrition and diet. As project 2 begins April 15th here in the courtroom, we have 24 people signed up so far for that session. And the wellness project 2 focuses on stress management. That again is a cost driver within our health system, health care system. Within that session we also have a program that's going to be somewhat unique. It's called money smart, and that program is designed to reduce stress based on how well you can develop a budget and manage your money. Crystal, can you -- crystal wilkes, who is with the extension division, is more familiar with that program, so i've asked her to mention it.
>> good morning, mihm crystal wilkes with prairie view a&m university. The money smart class is a class that my colleague, with the Texas cooperative extension program conducts, and two of the classes that are being suggested is understanding credit, which is an introduction to the money smart program. And that's to help people look at credit card use and to benefit the overall family. You will also learn about lending, payday loans and how those -- there are some costs that are associated with that that the individual may not be aware of. Another class is to your credit, and that is how to manage credit card debt and looking at your credit card limits and things of that nature. She also some additional classes that are charge it right, loan to own. Consumer skills, money matters, pay yourself first, and taking consumer action. And then owning your own home. So these are some options that are also available as classes that she would like to present.
>> we're offering -- there are 10 classes in total? We'll be offering the first two in our wellness project, and employees can then select the remaining classes to take if they wish so do so. We'll be offering the first two as an introduction to the money smart program.
>> how much do the classes cost?
>> there's no charge for these.
>> that's the right price. [ laughter ]
>> it's money smart.
>> is the class done after hours? Are the classes done after hours or are these classes held during the work hour?
>> the first two classes that are part of the project will be held, I believe, around the lunch hour, an extended lunch hour, maybe hour and a half. The subsequent classes I知 not sure. We're not sure about that. I think it depends on the amount of interest and where they would -- where the interest comes from as to where the classes would be held and the time.
>> but is it designed to offer these or to let people know about them to do them other than work hour times? Or are these on employee times as to when they do these?
>> I believe in talking to the individual that's going to put on the program, these will be after hours. And the first two that are part of the pilot project run about an hour and a half right about the lunch hour, so there would be an extended period there.
>> where possible we have tried to align them where the time is shared between the employer and the employee. Where we did our survey of employees, 87% of employees said that they would participate in a class, they would be more likely to participate in a class if it was provided during work hours. So as an encouragement for people to attend, what we usually have done is provided, say, a class that begins maybe at 4:30 and it ends at 5:30 so that it's kind of half and half, half the employer contribution and half their own time.
>> that's a little bit like smoking. I mean, people are like, okay, well, so somebody that smokes, you know, they have something that the county does for them. I don't smoke. I elect not to smoke. I have taken care of myself, so -- what's the reward for me? I mean, I think we need to be careful with this because you can bet that there's going to be somebody in a work organization that's going to say, why is that person taking off from their job to go and do something because they don't understand that they're spending more money than they have? And they are stressed about those kind of things. I mean, I want us to be careful, you know, with that because before you know it we'll have some knee jerk reaction to that. I mean, people basically say, do you know what -- I do it. I've got bills to pay, i've got all these kind of things. Do that. So I don't want us to get into a situation where we will have some employees that resent the fact that so and so takes off because they're stressed because this is happening. That's just my opinion.
>> we're trying to work as a group and in the group -- we have the insurance group going. We all feel the effects of those cost drivers. And I would think that if I知 pretty healthy and I keep myself healthy, diet, exercise, what my reward is going to be in this is have those cost drivers reduced. And so that the group can lower the costs of that insurance -- of those insurance costs and maybe we can come up with some savings for some raises. And so I look at the savings that we will get from this so that we can use that money for other things, such as raises, instead of having just to always cover the health raising costs. So I think we need to look at this as we're part of a group. We're not individuals here. And because of being in a group, we benefit from that. And so what we're trying to do as a group is to lower those cost drivers so that we can realize some savings for some other things.
>> the classes can be -- employees can sign up for these classes by e-mail, sending me an e-mail for now. Hr has an initiative working for online registration for classes, not just within we willness, but throughout all the training programs. Once that's up and running, then employees will be able to sign up for the wellness programs online as well, but right now through e-mail is probably the best way to do that. And for the first session we have 24 individuals signed up for this coming Thursday's session, which is our first on the stress management. And that's a pretty good turnout for the first session coming up.
>> where is that one?
>> it's going to be here in the courtroom. I believe it begins at 11:45, and end at 1:00 o'clock. Another initiative that the wellness committee implemented was a newsletter. And our editor and chief is here. And i'd like nancy to talk a little bit about the newsletter.
>> good morning. I知 nancy with health and human services. And we have had real good feedback from the first newsletter that y'all approved and received, and we're hoping to get our second one out within the next couple of weeks. So not only will you know about blueberries, but you might have a profile about raz berries or other barry families. So we're excited about the feedback, the contributions, a lot of unsolicited suggestions from staff, so we know that they were interested and were reading it and we're hopeful that that will continue to compliment our work on overall education. Thank you.
>> thank you, nancy. The big event coming up this week -- actually, I believe the event starts on the 15th as well on Thursday, is the Texas roundup. And bonnie floyd from purchasing has been heading that up for the Travis County effort. I'd like her to talk a little bit about the Texas roundup and what that's going to entail.
>> hi, I知 bonnie ford from purchasing. Texas roundup is an effort that's being promoted by the state. It's a six-week fitness program that encourages all texans to get at least 30 minutes of activity five days a week. The big event to round that up is the 10k that's on Saturday. That's 6.2 miles. We have 54 people so far signed up online to be a part of either the fitness program or the 10k or both. And I think there's like 19 or 20 people who are actually going to do the 10k. Online registration for that ends on Thursday, so everybody else needs to get signed up and come and join us. We're going to meet about 1:15 down at the back side of the parking garage and all walk over together. We know that some people are going to be walking and some running, so we're not going to be able to participate together, but we can at least all walk over together and get some good pictures of all of us. We want to have fun and that will be a lot of fun. So everybody needs to come join us.
>> what does it cost to register?
>> right now it's $15 through the 15th. Early registration has already ended. That's when you got a little bit of a break. $15 through the 15th and then it goes up to $20 if you register in person at the expo, which is what dan was referring to, that starts on Thursday. They're going to have a whole bunch of different booths set up, different activities going Thursday, Friday and Saturday around the capitol grounds.
>> I keep hoping that some smart reporter is going to ask the governor, okay, so am I supposed to quit smoking because it's good for me or am I supposed to keep smoking because it will raise money for the school children of Texas? You know, that one is a little hard to figure out what we're supposed to do, a mixed message.
>> well, under other activities, our first smoking cessation class will be Friday, April the 16th 11:30 to 12:30. And steven is heading that up and doing an excellent job. I think he picked up several additional interested persons who want to stop smoking, so school finance might be in jeopardy.
>> [inaudible - no mic]. [ laughter ]
>> rather being active we should sit on our duffs and do other sedentary activities. [ laughter ]
>> [inaudible - no mic]
>> and there are some other activities. Nancy, get us out of this one. [ laughter ]
>> segue right to the safe place walk. Health and human services has participated as a department in this walk, and we had a great time and arlene is sitting out here. She was part of the walk and stephen. And we are hoping again this year to participate in that as a department, but would encourage our other departments and colleagues within the county to join us this year. Of course, safe place is an organization that we both formally and informally support here at the county, so it's a wonderful opportunity to get out there and get moving and to show our support for a very worthy organization. There's different ways to participate. You can sign up as a team captain and organize your own group, which is basically what we did at health and human services. Folks are encouraged to receive their own donations or pledges from people to be able to raise money for the campaign. And we need lots of volunteers too. There's a very large children's area and a memorial wall that they need assistance with as well. So the date is Saturday, April 24th, from 10:00 a.m. To 2:00 p.m. And it's a non-competitive, very nice walk. I believe it's a 2.2-mile loop that begins at wowrt lou park. It's all levels of walkers and fitness and it's a real good deal to come out to. Live music by bonnie bone and the squeeze tones. A lot of entertainment as well. You can get additional information at Austinsafe place.org, I believe. And perhaps we can get that out on an e-mail from the wellness e-mail address. Thank you.
>> thanks, nancy.
>> yes, I just have a mini report from my particular walking group. I had a group of 20 sign up. And I have a group of four that have been walking since February the 22nd, for 20% consistency rate. And we have people from the da's office and from cscd and myself and we've gone from walking three miles to four miles. We stepped it up. And it has been since February the 22nd. And it feels good.
>> how many members of the court are part of the walking group?
>> I am. And although I don't walk with them, I walk on my own and I just need to report back to y'all.
>> and I知 a jazzer sizer and i've done 49 classes since February first, most of them at 6:00 a.m.
>> the governor is proud of you. [ laughter ] [inaudible - no mic]
>> I think it's a great way also to find out what's going on in other parts of the county.
>> we walked a lot in dc.
>> do you walk around noon?
>> our group walks at 5:30 in the afternoon on Mondays and Wednesdays and we meet here in Commissioners court. Anyone who wants to join us are welcome. We walk from here to the capitol. It's just lovely in the spring. And do three loops -- and now we've done four loops around the capitol and then walked back. But at 5:30 Mondays and Wednesdays here at the Commissioners court is where we meet and then we do the capitol route.
>> make Commissioner Daugherty walk while we were up up in washington, d.c. I took my pedometer. And one day we did 11.2 miles.
>> that's terrific.
>> he whined the whole way. [ laughter ]
>> finally, we'd like to thank the court for the support that you've given us. If you look at the members of the wellness committee, we all have our jobs. There's no one with this specific primary responsibility. The committees work very hard, but with the court's direction and patience with us. We especially would like to thank mike richardson who is with the downtown alliance club in his support for getting their van to our festivals and especially we want to thank the employees. We have just been bomb bombarded by e-mails with suggestions and other activity recommendations and classes. It's just been an extraordinary experience. I think that's what's made it worthwhile for all of us being involved on the committee.
>> very good.
>> we'll take any questions you might have. We do have as our final point, we'd like to share our t-shirts with the court since you authorized those.
>> thank you.
>> one of these days we're going to be asking for a small. [ laughter ]
>> nancy, what time is the group meeting for the 10k?
>> I知 bonnie.
>> bonnie, I mean.
>> 1:15.
>> it's in the afternoon.
>> to the 10k is two this year?
>> this is the first year for the Texas roundup.
>> okay. For the roundup. Okay.
>> anything further?
>> one more thing.
>> they asked me to let you know about a spinoff from my walking group has been a group that has asked me to hold them accountable for their calorie consumption and their physical activity. This group is very informal. We meet at 8:45 -- I知 sorry, 7:45. It takes about 10 minutes. We weigh in, we review our records of what we have kept all week. And we do hold each other accountable. And this started just by absolute accident that we realized accountability seems to be working more than anything else. Out of this group -- and right now just recently there's five of us now, one lady has lost 26 pounds since the first of February. And we go through educational material, you know, things that we find like the seven-minute miracle work out. We're going to review that to see how it's going and try it and see if we like it. And information we have on water and the benefits of drinking water. And this group is growing. And right now it's manageable. And I知 hoping that we have more that will join us. It's just a very informal group of weighing in and talking. So I did want to tell you about that.
>>
>> [one moment, please, for change in captioners]
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 5:54 PM