When Michael Ugwueke, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, realized his community of Memphis was ranked as the second heaviest city in the U.S., he decided to take action.
The health system also recently conducted a community health needs assessment for their region and realized the results weren't good relative to cancer, heart disease and obesity, which contributed to overall health issues for the area. A new initiative was born through the assessment: Healthier 901 powered by Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.
The health system's goal is to recruit 250,000 participants and help the community lose 1 million pounds in three years. A few months in, Methodist Le Bonheur is already seeing results.
"This is a very big audacious goal, and we think that really accomplishing that goal for our city will begin to change the health trajectory of the population," said Dr. Ugwueke. "We have churches and a congregational health network that are challenging one another to lose weight, and family and friends competing against each other. They are downloading the app and challenging each other to stay away from sweets and sharing information about living healthier."
The free app is designed to help community members live healthier lives and includes free resources for individuals to navigate their health transformation journey. Resources include healthy activities, goal setting support, recipes, pre-recorded workouts and healthy eating suggestions. It is also designed to provide accountability for participants and track milestones for steps, calories and weight loss.
Methodist Le Bonheur launched the campaign in August in partnership with Cigna Healthcare, Kroger, Nike, the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South and the local NBC affiliate, Action News 5. Dr. Ugwueke has seen great energy around the project so far, but knows it takes consistency and continued efforts for people and communities to truly change their habits.
"It's a marathon, not a sprint," he said. "It's not a dietary regimen or just exercise. It's a lifestyle change. That's why we are giving it three years. We are encouraging people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and they are walking together and eating healthy. We are beginning to see some improvement."
It will be important to continue ramping up efforts next year and engage more community members to download the app. Methodist Le Bonheur plans to continue sharing information and build on the momentum of New Year's resolutions to make the transformation. If the project is successful, it could positively affect future generations as well.
"Even if we get to half of our goal, I am convinced that once people make fundamental changes in their lives, they'll impact others. I'm more encouraged with our children," said Dr. Ugwueke. "Everybody in Memphis talks about barbeques and food, but that is something that impacts our health. To the extent that we use this as a springboard to practice moderation, we will see change."
Methodist Le Bonheur is also partnering with the local school system and community partners to spread the word about the campaign. At the kickoff celebration in September, Healthier 901 Fest, nearly 5,000 community members showed up to help launch the challenge, participate in workout classes, enjoy healthy food and hear about celebrity guest Sherri Shepherd’s health journey.