City mulling a 'Healthy Beaumont' website
By Michelle Heath
Beaumont Enterprise Page 1
Updated 9:46 am, Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Dr. James Holly answered a familiar call, hearing the words "I hate you" on the other end of the line. The caller was upset by his test results stats that proved the man could no longer pretend he didn't suffer health problems. Holly, CEO of Southeast Texas Medical Associates, shared the anecdote Tuesday after a Beaumont City Council workshop on a proposed "Healthy Beaumont" website. The longtime Beaumont physician said he supports the city wanting to offer its residents health education and accountability information.
The Healthy Beaumont website was suggested by Mayor Pro Tem Alan Coleman.
Coleman told the council that Jefferson County as a whole, not just Beaumont, stacks up poorly in overall health rankings. In a recently survey conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jefferson County posted an adult obesity rate of 36 percent, while the state averaged 29 percent, Coleman said.
In response, Coleman proposes the city partner with SETMA, Lamar University, Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office and others to form a coalition and provide a one-stop health care website. "Everyone from Southeast Texas will benefit," Coleman said. "Beaumont will be the leader."
The site will include health care tips, links to recreational activities happening in the city and will connect users to the aforementioned partners, according to Coleman.
The city has until Aug. 30 to apply for a $7,500 grant that would fund the website's start-up. The council will vote on the matter at its Tuesday meeting. The website would cost around $50,000 to run because it requires the creation of a webmaster position, Coleman said.
Holly said SETMA would put up $10,000 a year for three years towards the website if a position needed to be created.
Coleman said he is working with Lamar to create a possible part-time internship for a graduate student. That proposed internship could alleviate costs for the city, he said.
Some council members expressed concern that the new site wasn't needed because resources were already readily available to the community through local hospitals and health care websites.
Holly said SETMA's website is typically used by health care professionals. He envisions something different for Healthy Beaumont.
"It's got to be something unique," Holly said. "It's a unique initiative and it can include links to other websites (people) can trust."
Coleman said the website would be economically beneficial to the region, citing that obesity is associated with lower work productivity and leads to diabetes. The estimated annual cost to treat the 1.8 million Texans diagnosed with diabetes is $12.5 billion, according to Coleman.
The American Public Health Association reports that for every $1 invested in public health that there will be a $5 reduction in health care costs, he told the council. Using that math, Coleman estimated the website could reduce health care costs in Southeast Texas by $250,000 a year.
MHeath@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/mheath31
Dr. Holly’s Response to Enterprise and City Council
Ms. Crum, I read your article in the Beaumont Enterprise about the City Council meeting with interest. The anecdote in your first comment was not from a patient but from a minister to whom I wrote a letter. The day he received the letter, he called me and said, “I hate you.” I responded that I had heard that before and asked why. He said because he was blissfully ignorant of the content of my letter and now he knew and was accountable. Knowledge makes us accountable. Confessing to his guilt at Nuremberg, Albert Speer said, “I must confess for I am guilty not only of what I am charged, but I am guilty of all, for I could have known and I chose not to know.” Thank you for reporting the Council meeting. I hope that the City Council undertakes this initiative. A Healthy Beaumont Collaborative would be an important part of the Council leading in promoting healthy living in our city and our region. SETMA sells nothing on our website. It is strictly for educational purposes.
Comments about SETMA:
“Can I tell you that you are my hero? You are such an amazing visionary, an articulate spokesperson for change, and an advocate for patients and families. I am honored that you would share my brother’s story. It’s in my heart (one of many) and I so appreciate you sharing it. But everything you write moves me. Thanks for being you...the whole country benefits from your leadership. Hope to have coffee with you some day! Warm thanks for all, Maureen: Maureen Bisognano, President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Cambridge, MA
Endorsement of SETMA’s Website
“You have the most informative website, I have ever utilized. Bravo, for sharing such valuable information with the entire medical community.” (Johnson & Johnson former executive and retired military officer)
http://jameslhollymd.com/pat-index.cfm
August 11, 2014 -- SETMA's Achievements in the past 53 weeks
http://jameslhollymd.com/about-setma/may-2014-setmas-clinics-and-patients-choosing
http://jameslhollymd.com/epm-tools/Tutorial-LESS
A tutorial for SETMA’s LESS Initiative (Lose Weight, Exercise, Stop Smoking)
http://jameslhollymd.com/epm-tools/Tutorial-Adult-Weight-Management
http://jameslhollymd.com/in-the-news/AHRQ-Publishes-SETMA-LESS
Announcement of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality publication of SETMA’s LESS initiative on AHRQ’s Innovation Exchange
http://jameslhollymd.com/in-the-news/announcements
This is SETMA’s published audit of the LESS Initiative Performance by provider name
April 30, 2014 Audit of Provider Performance
http://jameslhollymd.com/epm-tools/Tutorial-Exercise-Prescription
Key to weight management is exercise. This is the tutorial for SETMA’s Exercise Prescription which is personalized for each patient, each time they are seen.
http://jameslhollymd.com/Your-Life-Your-Health/Robert-Wood-Johnson-Announcement-about-SETMA-as-an-Exemplar-Practice
Sincerely yours,
James (Larry) Holly, M.D.
C.E.O. SETMA
www.jameslhollymd.com
Adjunct Professor
Family & Community Medicine
University of Texas Health Science Center
San Antonio School of Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center
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