It is well known that healthier employees are more productive and provide better customer service. Many initiatives are currently in place to improve employee wellness. The Department of Pediatrics would like to share one successful experience with the rest of our community.

In January as a part of their New Year resolutions, Cecilia Moore, R.D., and Marcela Nur, M.D., got together to discuss the possibility of starting a program to help female employees in the department get in better shape.  After sending an email invitation to the 104 female employees in the department (faculty, residents, nurses and administrative staff), 39 respondents got together for the first time on Jan. 14 to give shape to the Biggest Loser competition that would run from the second week of January to the last week of May.  To stimulate healthy peer pressure and support, seven teams were created and a team prize was defined with the support of Department Administrator John Berry.

The original idea of starting a Biggest Loser competition actually came from a small group of employees in the billing division of the Department of Pediatrics in summer 2011.  At that time invitations were sent to the entire department, but only the billing department and two administrators joined, for a total of eight participants. After 12 weeks, Elizabeth Hernandez was crowned the Biggest Loser 2011.

This year, the Department of Pediatrics is proud to announce Molly Toon, N.P., as the individual Biggest Loser 2013.  With an extraordinary 16.48 percent of body weight loss, she took home the first prize, followed by Andrea Thomas at 14.14 percent, Nancy Pharis at 13.16 percent, and Mary Jo Ford at 13 percent.

Team Endocrine took first place in the team competition with an average body weight loss of 7.03 percent (Cissy Moore, Sissy Sanford, Teresa Edwards, Cynthia Hernandez, Rosanna Castillo and Daina Dreimane), followed closely by teams Cardio/Lab with 6.37 percent and Billing with 5.77 percent of body weight loss.

This summer the Department of Pediatrics Biggest Loser contestants are an amazing 588.8 pounds lighter than they were following the 2012 holiday season.

What’s next for our department?  What about an inter-department Biggest Loser challenge?  We would love to dare our Medical Pavilion neighbors to get healthy with us… Is OB-GYN up for the challenge?

To be continued…….

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Pictured: Molly Toon, N.P., and Team Endocrine (from left) Moore, Edwards, Sanford, Castillo and Hernandez. Missing from the photo is Dr. Dreimane.