Our Health. Our Priority.

"What the certified VHA coaches can do.......is very im-portant for the health of VHA." - Dr. DeWayne Niebur

Health Heroes

Steve Howard Director, Safety and Wellness

Aspen Skiing Company

and

Alisa Vetter

Health Coach

Elevation

Congratulations to Steve and

Alisa for serving as inspirational

leaders and innovators for well-

being with Aspen Skiing Com-

pany and our community.

We are very proud of you both!

Letter from the Executive Director

Hello all!

The Valley Health Alliance welcomes you to the first quarterly edition of the VHA Newsletter. We have had an exciting start to this year by relocating the VHA Cor-porate Offices to 1460 E. Valley Road, Suites 123/124, Basalt, Colorado and wel-coming Shelley Evans, part-time, Executive Assistant and Project Manager to the “tiny but mighty” VHA Leadership Team. The VHA Board of Directors also wel-comed Karl Adam, CPA, as Treasurer and Dr. DeWayne Niebur, VHA Medical Di-rector.

VHA invited Mountain Family Health Centers as the newest employer member with 180 covered lives and a broad distribution platform for accessing primary care, dental and mental health in Basalt, Glenwood Springs, Edwards, and Rifle. Ross Brooks, CEO, will server on the VHA Board of Directors.

VHA members extend proud congratulations to the Aspen Skiing Company for receiving the “Governor’s Award for Worksite Wellness” in their efforts, over twenty years, to promote safety, wellbeing, coaching and general health of their workforce and our community across the valley. A special congratulations to Jim Laing, Steve Howard, Michele Goodhard and Alisa Vetter for their leadership.

The VHA Working Group welcomes Scott Owens, Mountain Family Health Centers; Alisa Vetter, Aspen Skiing Company; and Joanna Rybak, Health and Well-being Specialist for Pitkin County. Joanna, congratulations on your new role as health ambassador for the County!

Sincerely,

Kathleen Killion, MBA, RPT www@ourvha.org

Valley Health Alliance June 2016 Volume 1

Coaches Corner

Welcome Coaches!

Gail Schueth gschueth@wholehealthmanagement.org 970-216-1089

Lisa Fountain lfountain@wholehealthmanagement.org 970-712-7623

Visit Us

Valley Health Alliance

1460 E. Valley Road

Basalt, CO 81621

on the web at www.ourvha.org

VHA Health Facts:

Stress, poor sleep and weight man-

agement were identified as the pri-

mary “lifestyle” risks

Low back and neck pain are present

in 66% of the VHA membership

Suicide rates are four times the na-

tional average in our valley

Depression rates are 10% higher

than the national average in Pitkin

County

High blood pressure, high cholesterol

and depression are the primary VHA

“medical” risks

68% of VHA members voiced a read-

iness for change in their health status

Do you KNOW YOUR NUMBERS?

Cholesterol

Total Cholesterol A sum of the blood’s

cholesterol content

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol

The “bad” cholesterol that causes buildup

of fatty deposits in the arteries

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol

The “good” cholesterol that helps prevent

arteries from being clogged

Triglycerides A type of fat found in the

blood and stored in fat cells

Fasting Blood Glucose & A1C tests:

Measures the amount of sugar (glucose) in

the blood after fasting. Also reflects average

blood sugar levels over the past two to three

months.

Blood Pressure: Measures the amount of

blood your heart pumps and the amount of

resistance to blood flow in your arteries.

BMI and Waist Circumference: Used to esti-

mate total body fat and your risk of develop-

ing weight-related diseases.

OUR NEW HOME

www.triadeap.com

1-877-679-1100

And from Christina King at Aspen Strong:

“Studies have shown that those with a mental ill-ness are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic pain, and higher stress, among other conditions.

In addition, people with physical conditions such as asthma or diabetes are more likely to have sub-stance abuse and other mental health disorders. “

Get Your Check-Up From the Neck Up!

Take a mental health assessment now. It’s quick, edu-cational, and anonymous.

http://screening.mentalhealthscreening.org/vha

Employers in Action The History. The Valley Health Alliance has grown over the past several years, and Aspen Valley Hospital

has gladly been an incubator for the initiative. The journey began when Jon Peacock (County Manager,

Pitkin County) and Dave Ressler (then AVH CEO) originated discussions about the rising cost of healthcare

for employers and the need to find a more sustainable model on a local level. The brainstorming began in

the spring of 2013 with several other local employers with self-funded health insurance plans. Initially the

group also brought local physicians and hospital administrators to the table and a medical model was devel-

oped for the VHA to manage locally identified high risk health concerns. After trialing this idea for a period, a

more proactive, preventive health coaching model was adopted. Aspen Valley Hospital funded the Valley

Health Alliance until the program and employers gained momentum and traction with their efforts. Fast for-

ward to today, and the 5 largest employers in the valley sit at one table with the leadership of a highly experi-

enced executive director. Most recently a health coaching model was established utilizing evidenced-based

practices to improve the well-being of our employees!

The Role. AVH is committed to be the leader in fostering our community as the healthiest in the nation. AVH

values its employees and recognizes the health and wellbeing of our employees contributes to our success.

Resilient and well-balanced employees are better equipped to care for our patients and set an example for

our community. AVH offers a robust wellness and safety program for its employees called Evolve. Evolve

recognizes that all people are in a continuous journey towards becoming a healthier version of themselves.

The program provides employees with the tools and resources to improve their health status and enhance

their quality of life. Evolve implements health promotion strategies including educational seminars, health

related challenges, and an opportunity to meet on-one-one with coaching staff to set and reach health and

well-being goals. Evolve focuses on the mind, body, and spirit to aid in creating a healthy work-life balance.

Aspen Valley Hospital has served as not only a leader for health initiatives in our community, but also offers

many resources to the Valley Health Alliance.

The Future. The Valley Health Alliance has continued to make progress in their long term vision of a healthy

community in the Roaring Fork Valley. Aspen Valley Hospital looks forward to future collaborations to bring

this vision to fruition, and to turning this mission into a community-wide endeavor. The long term hope is

that within the VHA, every organization speaks and practices the same language of health and wellness

while improving the well-being of our employees, their families, and friends.

Announcements

The VHA was selected as one of the twenty “Affiliates” for The Total Worker Health® Program in the U.S. in April 2016. The program focuses on the impact work culture, workplace environment, our managers and supervisors, and available resources for safety and health all have on worker well-being.

“As workers, what happens to us in our home life, doesn’t stay at home and what happens to us in our work lives, doesn’t stay at work. Each bleeds into the other and they strongly influence one another,” said Dr. Casey Chosewood. “When it comes to your overall health, the work you do and the people you work for are incredibly influential. Your direct supervisor has far more impact on your health than your primary care physician will ever have,” explained Dr. Chosewood.

On May 5, 2016, facilitators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupa-tional Safety and Health, Dr. Casey Chosewood, M.D., Director, Total Worker Health® Program and Chia-Chia Chang, visited Aspen to conduct a half-day supervisor training for VHA leaders.

The goal of the program was to share concepts of healthy supervision, provide current information on managing a diverse workforce, and discuss strategies for ensuring workforce safety, health and well-being. The training re-viewed the leading characteristics of health-conscious supervisors, strategies for putting healthier supervision into practice and problem-solving tactics.

To view dozens of Triad prerecorded webinars, go to www.triadeap.com and “Log-in to Your EAP” using your organization’s User ID and Password. Webi-nars are prerecorded and accessible any time after the date listed. The webinars also offer enhanced interactivity to allow users to submit questions. Questions are answered individually via email and then also uploaded into an FAQ section to aid other users.

Events, Classes and Celebrations

Aspen Valley Hospital June 2: 12:00—1:00 PM in Oden Conference Center at AVH with Chris Miller: Eat The Rainbow June 11: 8:30—11:30 AM Screening Health Fair (no labs) June 22: Bike To Work day July 18—August 28: Step Into Health

Aspen Strong

August 20: 7:30 AM—12:00 PM, Hike. Hope. Heal, Herron Park and Smuggler Mtn. Register: aspenstrong.org/register October 14—Changing Brains, Changing Lives Symposium at The Gant Register: www.aspenstrong.org/symposium

VHA Coaches Cook!

SPAGHETTI SQUASH VONGOLE

SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS

1 spaghetti squash cooked

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced (I LOVE garlic so usually use

about 4x this amount!)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 small bottle clam juice

1/4 cup white wine

2 pounds cockles, Manila clams, or mussels scrubbed

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squash in half length-wise. Rub

with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet

cut side down. Add about ¼ inch water to baking

sheet and place in oven. Cook for about 30-40min.

Squash is cooked when tender - a knife or fork can

easily pierce squash. Remove from oven and let

cool a bit. Scrape out squash with a fork into mixing

bowl.

Heat olive oil in deep frying pan or soup pot. Add garlic

and red pepper flakes. Sautee for about 1-2 minutes

- until fragrant.

Add wine and clam juice, then clams; increase heat to

high. Cover skillet and cook until clams open and

release their juices, 3-6 minutes, depending on size

of clams. As clams open, use tongs to transfer them

to a bowl.

Spoon out spaghetti squash into bowls; add clams and

broth from pan, top with parsley. Enjoy!

NUTRITION

Calories: 323, Protein: 25g (20 small clams), Fat: 15g, Carbs:

10g (2 cups of cooked spaghetti squash)