Baton Rouge, LA, January 24, 2012 - The Louisiana Hospital  Association (LHA) today announced a new workplace wellness initiative for hospitals throughout the state. The Smart Choices,  Better Health(SM) Hospital Campaign is an LHA board-directed  initiative that will be implemented in two phases over a three-year period.

Phase one will focus on healthy eating, exercise and weight loss, and phase two will focus on smoking cessation. Hospital CEOs throughout the state appointed Campaign Champions, who  attended an orientation today in Baton Rouge. These representatives were given the training and resources needed to form a wellness team at their hospitals. These teams will implement hospital-specific  worksite wellness action plans for their employees and communities. Today, over 100 hospitals formally committed to the Smart Choices, Better HealthSM Hospital Campaign.

“The LHA created this campaign so that every hospital, regardless of  type or size, could participate and have a positive impact on the wellness of their staff and communities,” said Milton Bourgeois, LHA  Board Chair and CEO of Ochsner-St. Anne General Hospital. “Healthy choices lead to better health outcomes, and hospitals are committed to leading by example.”

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, over 66 percent of adults  and over 35 percent of children in Louisiana are obese. Also, over 22 percent of adults in Louisiana smoke. “Smoking and obesity alone are major causes of health issues in Louisiana leading to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and premature death,” said John Matessino, LHA president and CEO. “They  also increase healthcare costs by billions of dollars every year.”

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) and the Louisiana Business Group on Health provided resources for hospitals to use in the planning and implementation of their programs.

“I have adopted the motto ‘Own your own health’ for both myself and  DHH. This represents the importance of taking personal responsibility for the role we play in our own health outcomes,”  said DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein. “It’s great to see hospitals leading the way to improve the health of Louisianians, not just for their patients but also for their employees who should serve as role models for their patients. Hospitals are large employers, and I am happy they are taking the opportunity to set an example of how to help people take charge of their own health.”

 “The Louisiana Business Group on Health is proud to support the LHA and the Smart Choices, Better Health(SM) Hospital Campaign by providing the Louisiana Worksite Wellness Toolkit and Resource  Guide,” said Cheryl Tolbert, executive director of the Louisiana > Business Group on Health. “This toolkit is designed to assist worksites with implementing strategies that have been proven to be effective. The toolkit shows employers ways to get started and make a difference in the health of employees, regardless of the size of the worksite and its available resources.”

To learn more about the Smart Choices, Better HealthSM Hospital Campaign, visit http://www.SmartChoicesBetterHealth.org

TweetSee list below for participating hospitals.  1. Abbeville General Hospital, Abbeville > 2. Acadiana Management Group, LLC, Lafayette > 3. Allegiance Health Center of Ruston > 4. Ascension Gonzales Rehabilitation Hospital, Gonzales > 5. Assumption Community Hospital, Napoleonville > 6. Avoyelles Hospital, Marksville > 7. Baton Rouge General Medical Center - Bluebonnet, Baton > Rouge > 8. Baton Rouge General Medical Center – Midcity, Baton Rouge > 9. Baton Rouge Rehabilitation Hospital, Baton Rouge > 10. Beauregard Memorial Hospital, Deridder > 11. Bienville Medical Center, Arcadia > 12. Bunkie General Hospital, Bunkie > 13. Byrd Regional Hospital, Leesville > 14. CHRISTUS Coushatta Health Care Center, Coushatta > 15. CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital, Alexandria > 16. CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital, Lake Charles > 17. CHRISTUS Schumpert St. Mary Place, Shreveport > 18. CHRISTUS Schumpert Highland, Shreveport > 19. Citizens Medical Center, Columbia > 20. Cornerstone Hospital of Bossier City, Bossier City > 21. Cornerstone Hospital of Southwest Louisiana, Sulphur > 22. Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital, Hammond > 23. Dauterive Hospital, New Iberia > 24. DeSoto Regional Health System, Mansfield > 25. Doctor's Hospital at Deer Creek, Leesville > 26. East Carroll Parish Hospital, Lake Providence > 27. East Jefferson General Hospital, Metairie > 28. Franklin Foundation Hospital, Franklin > 29. Franklin Medical Center, Winnsboro > 30. Greenbrier Hospital, Covington > 31. Hardtner Medical Center, Olla > 32. Homer Memorial Hospital, Homer > 33. IASIS Glenwood Regional Medical Center, West Monroe > 34. Jennings American Legion Hospital, Jennings > 35. Lady of the Sea General Hospital, Cut Off > 36. Lafayette General Medical Center, Lafayette > 37. Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, Lafayette > 38. Lafayette Physical Rehabilitation Hospital, Lafayette > 39. Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital, Lafayette > 40. Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, Lake Charles > 41. Lakeview Regional Medical Center, Covington > 42. Lane Regional Medical Center, Zachary > 43. LaSalle General Hospital, Jena > 44. Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center, Houma > 45. Louisiana Medical Center & Heart Hospital, Lacombe > 46. LTAC of Denham Springs > 47. LTAC of Feliciana, Clinton > 48. LTAC of Louisiana - Abbeville Campus > 49. LTAC of Louisiana - Lafayette Campus > 50. LTAC of Washington/St. Tammany - Bogalusa Campus > 51. LTAC of Washington/St. Tammany - Slidell Campus > 52. Madison Parish Hospital, Tallulah > 53. Minden Medical Center, Minden > 54. Morehouse General Hospital, Bastrop > 55. Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, Natchitoches > 56. North Oaks Health System, Hammond > 57. North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital, Hammond > 58. Oakdale Community Hospital, Oakdale > 59. Oceans Behavioral Hospital of Broussard > 60. Ochsner Baptist Medical Center, New Orleans > 61. Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans > 62. Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge > 63. Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner > 64. Ochsner Medical Center – Elmwood > 65. Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank > 66. Ochsner-St. Anne General Hospital, Raceland > 67. Opelousas General Health System, Opelousas > 68. Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Lafayette > 69. Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge > 70. P & S Surgical Hospital, Monroe > 71. Park Place Surgical Hospital, Lafayette > 72. Pointe Coupee General Hospital, New Roads > 73. Promise Hospital Baton Rouge > 74. Promise Hospital of Miss-Lou, Vidalia > 75. Rapides Regional Medical Center, Alexandria > 76. Regional Medical Center of Acadiana, Lafayette > 77. Richardson Medical Center, Rayville > 78. Richland Parish Hospital - Delhi > 79. River Oaks Hospital, New Orleans > 80. River Parishes Hospital, La Place > 81. Riverland Medical Center, Ferriday > 82. Riverside Medical Center, Franklinton > 83. Sabine Medical Center, Many > 84. Shriners Hospitals for Children-Shreveport > 85. Specialty LTCH Hospital of Hammond > 86. Specialty Rehabilitation Hospital of Coushatta > 87. Specialty Rehabilitation Hospital of Luling > 88. Springhill Medical Center, Springhill > 89. St. Elizabeth Hospital, Gonzales > 90. St. Francis Medical Center, Monroe > 91. St. James Parish Hospital, Lutcher > 92. St. Martin Hospital, Breaux Bridge > 93. St. Tammany Parish Hospital, Covington > 94. Teche Regional Medical Center, Morgan City > 95. The NeuroMedical Center Surgical Hospital, Baton Rouge > 96. Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, Thibodaux > 97. Tulane Medical Center, New Orleans > 98. Tulane – Lakeside Hospital, Metairie > 99. Union General Hospital, Farmerville > 100. United Medical Rehabilitation Hospital, Hammond > 101. West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, Sulphur > 102. West Jefferson Medical Center, Marrero > 103. WK Bossier Health Center, Bossier City > 104. WK Pierremont Health Center, Shreveport > 105. Willis-Knighton Medical Center, Shreveport > 106. Willis-Knighton South & Center for Women’s Health, Shreveport > 107. Winn Parish Medical Center, Winnfield > 108. Woman's Hospital, Baton Rouge > 109. Women & Children's Hospital, Lake Charles > 110. Women's & Children's Hospital, a Campus of The Regional Med > Ctr of Acadiana, Lafayette

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