Vol. 17, No. 38, March 21, 2005

IN THIS ISSUE:

This Reveille Home Page | The Friday Program: A Vote for Wellness | Owens Gets Big Award | We Get Letters | Friday Potpourri | Brown Reclassifies | Retreat Questionnaire | New Member Proposed: Kelly Nolan | Student of the Month: Julie Gockel | The View From The Window | Web Fun

The Friday Program:
A Vote for Wellness

Alex Rule introduced Lisa Schmidt, Director of Benefits for Providence Health Systems. Lisa made her pitch for wellness, describing a program that has had great success among the employees of the City of Bellevue.

“To curb rising health care costs, our best bet is to encourage wellness,” Lisa said. The rise in costs is fueled by a variety of things: the provider community is tied to treating symptoms; there is major cost shifting going on; the demand side of the employer-based system is not functioning well; and government regulations are tremendously burdensome to the system.

What is an option? Behavior modification.

Schmidt works for a company that provides health care to companies and employees, directing the benefit programs for Providence Health Systems to 38, 000 employees.

“The options are few at this point, but following a path of behavior modification is the way to curb health care costs — by encouraging wellness.”

The problem is that health care costs continue to rise, up 40 to 45% in past three years as reported by members of the audience. Schmidt said that Providence Health Systems paid out “a billion dollars for employees last year. Employees are customers and users of our main product — health care. “But, we must offer alternatives to stem these rising costs.” READ MORE

Owens Gets Big Award

Past District Governor John Jacob Gardiner paid the BBRC a visit to bestow an award on our Charter Member and Past President, Jim Owens, for his work on the Rotary Foundation campaign on behalf of District 5030. “It was an historic year — 2003-2004 — for our District, as we gained first place among all US clubs with an average gift of $206.73 to the Rotary Foundation.

Jim Owens masterminded the campaign, and his efforts earned him Rotary’s Distinguished Meritorious Service award from the Foundation.” Dick Clarke also participated in the ceremony. The award will be permanently presented to Jim at the District Conference in Vancouver, BC, in late April.

There is no one who takes his Rotary membership more seriously than Jim Owens. His three-year term in charge of the District’s Foundation Campaign built a tradition of excellence that will always serve as a model of support for the Rotary Foundation.

Congratulations, Jim Owens!

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We Get Letters

From Ken Colling, CEO of Goodwill Industries and our speaker of two weeks ago:

Dear Bob (Vallat)

Just want to say thank you again for your Rotary Breakfast Club donation of food to Rotary First Harvest on behalf of Goodwill. What I especially appreciated as well was your great, friendly, enjoyable members. I enjoyed the opportunity to speak and to meet so many nice people.

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Thought for the week

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not. — Mark Twain

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THIS WEEK'S EDITOR
John Mix

THIS WEEK'S PHOTOGRAPHER(S)
Jim Kindsvater
 

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