Company's wellness push pays off

Paul Alsippi, a fit and athletic mountain biker, wasn’t worried about his health when he signed up for the 90-day wellness program offered by his employer Buzz Crutcher at Grouse Mountain Lodge.

Phase one included free screenings for lipids (cholesterol), blood sugar and high blood pressure, so why not?

When the results arrived during phase two, Alsippi, director of food and beverage operations at the lodge, met with Cathy Relf, a nurse from Glacier Medical Associates who developed the program and ran it in partnership with North Valley Hospital.

“I was shocked at how bad it was,” he said.

His cholesterol numbers were far from optimal, including high triglycerides. Alsippi found out he wasn’t alone as employees shared their less-than-desirable screening results with each other.

“One of the big shockers was a guy who is an ‘uber’ competitive mountain biker,” he said.

For Alsippi, the meeting served as a wakeup call to boost up the fitness and diet program he had started five years earlier when he was screened at 35.  At that time, he cut back on red meat in favor of fish with substantial amounts of vegetables.

With Relf’s help during phase two, he set goals for losing weight and tweaking his exercise regime. On his own, he visited a local health food store and added some supplements such as niacin, plant sterols, vitamin C and krill tablets.

His hard work brought a big payoff when he re-screened during phase three at the end of 90 days.

“I lost 15 pounds,” Alsippi said. “My triglycerides went down over 45 percent and I dropped my cholesterol by 23 percent in 12 weeks.”

 Of the 43 participants, 10 were re-screened as a follow-up check of the high-risk people. Those employees had a 90 percent improvement in results just from lifestyle changes they made with support from Relf.

“I think the program was phenomenal,” Alsippi said. “Nurse Cathy is a superstar.”

He said two waitresses who had worked for years for Crutcher at the lodge made drastic changes in their lifestyles and lost a sizable amount of weight. One joined The Wave through a scholarship program at Grouse Mountain Lodge.

Crutcher, a self-professed health nut, couldn’t be more pleased with the success of his employees in improving their health.

“I love this group of people we have here,” he said. “Over the years, they’ve become like family — they’re all like my kids.”

 It’s the reason he asked North Valley Hospital about providing a wellness program that included screening for hidden health risks. Crutcher said he wanted his employees to know what was going on in their bodies and provide support for them to change.

He sees visible support for wellness by all players — employers, employees, health providers and insurance companies — as crucial for controlling and/or reducing the spiraling cost of health care.

“I think there’s no question that in the long run, it will save everyone money,” he said.

Crutcher said he has seen the tragic results of bad lifestyles and experienced firsthand the benefits of deciding to make health-friendly choices about food and exercise. A little more than 30 years ago, he was facing a landmark birthday as an out-of-shape former athlete.

In December 1977, he and a partner in their large Dallas law firm made a pact to get back in shape by the summer of 1978. Crutcher faced a common problem of his busy work schedule interfering with his workout.

“I realized that I couldn’t control any part of my day except when I got up,” he said. “I got in the habit of doing it in the morning and I’ve just continued.”

Crutcher leads by example by hitting the fitness center at the lodge around  7:15 a.m. He follows an integrated program of aerobics, weight lifting and core muscle stretching and strengthening.

Activity defines his fun time as well.

“I also play a lot of golf and do a lot of hiking in the park,” he said.

Since the lodge and golf course were founded in 1984, Crutcher has initiated several programs aimed at encouraging similar healthy choices among his employees. Many years ago, he offered a tobacco cessation program that included some cash as an incentive to quit.

When The Wave fitness center opened in Whitefish, he offered scholarships to encourage employees join and use the facility.

“I pay the initiation fee and I pay half the dues, providing they go eight times a month,” Crutcher said. “A bunch of them took advantage of that. I could see some did go through lifestyle changes.”

During the 90-day wellness program, he saw employees make beneficial changes as well. Crutcher recalled talking to one woman who had gotten too large for all but one pair of work pants.

When she started working with Relf on wellness, she faced the opposite problem. He beamed, remembering how happy she was about buying smaller pants.

“To see the difference in their attitude and the pride they took in watching their bodies change,” Crutcher said. “It’s been pretty amazing.”

He said he was pleased to see his employees sharing their initial screening results and then help each other stay on the path to better health. His only disappointment was that a little less than half of his core of about 100 employees took part in the wellness program.

“That’s always a puzzle since it was no cost to them,” he said. “Some of the younger ones feel like they’re bullet-proof.”

Like Alsippi, Crutcher had nothing but praise for Relf. During her twice-weekly visits, she not only helped employees meet their goals but also advocated for some who fell victim to unforeseen illnesses.

“She’s a real jewel,” Crutcher said. “She is very specialized and a dedicated practitioner.”

A registered nurse, Relf also has credentials as an exercise physiologist. Through Glacier Medical Associates, she provides fitness counseling, cardiac rehab and on-site nursing for businesses as an occupational health nurse.

She previously worked at North Valley Hospital before joining Glacier Medical Associates.

“I’ve been working in this field for a long time,” she said.

According to Relf, inspiration for the 90-day wellness program struck while she was practicing what she preaches.

“I was out on a run when I had a brain storm about a time-limited, three-phase program,” she said.

Relf choose 90 days because research has shown that lifestyle changes maintained for three months have a good success rate of becoming permanent. She first proposed the program to North Valley Hospital with the idea of  involving its employees.

During their meeting, CEO Jason Spring said he immediately thought of Grouse Mountain Lodge as a pilot program since Crutcher had asked the hospital about providing a similar program. They agreed to a partnership based on her three-phase concept.

“She went out and did the bulk of the work,” Spring said. “We helped with lab testing and drawing blood.”

When the numbers from the screenings came back, Relf found 50 percent of the employees had high lipids, 25 percent had high blood sugar and 10 percent had high blood pressure. By the end of the program, 10 high-risk employees who were re-screened had a 90 percent improvement.

“The big news is that, if people make lifestyle changes, they don’t need medication,” Relf said. “It’s exciting to see those changes. It was just a very positive experience.”

Spring was impressed enough to decide to have a similar program for the employees of North Valley Hospital by the end of the year. The hospital and Relf want to broaden support for the program to make it more cost-effective for employers.

“We’d like to have health plans involved,” Spring said, adding that healthier employees lower their costs.

Crutcher agrees. He plans to use the improved health of his employees in negotiations with the Grouse Mountain Lodge’s health insurance provider.

He sees no downside to investing in the wellness of employees through the program offered by Relf and North Valley Hospital.

“I would recommend that businesses around the valley get involved in something similar,” Crutcher said. “We were the Guinea pigs. What we all learned is that it’s just a no-brainer.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.