Dec. 9, 2004

Sims announces new "Health Matters Team" to help employees live well

King County Executive Ron Sims today announced the creation of the "Health Matters Team" as part of his Health Reform Initiative. The four member team will help employees, retirees and their family members become active participants in their health and health care choices.

Sims began the Health Reform Initiative as a response to skyrocketing health care costs. His Health Advisory Task (HAT) Force endorsed the county's plan to educate, engage and empower employees to become more informed decision makers.

"The Health Matters team was approved by the King County Council in the 2004 budget. The team members will educate employees about the crisis in health care and how to choose and use health care services that affect both quality and cost," said Sims.

"The team will also work with health experts to find and make available the best possible tools and information about specific illness/conditions, medications and alternative care, how to choose health plans and health care providers, and how to be actively involved with your doctor in decisions."

To help employees take charge of their health, the four new health team members will work throughout the county bringing employees workshops, "how to" tips, health related programs and information.

"Our goal is to have employees live a healthy life by eating right, exercising, practicing stress management and taking care of their emotional and physical needs," said Sims.

"This program will help not only employees but also their family members live well by learning, sharing and practicing healthy behaviors."

King County Councilmember Carolyn Edmonds, chair of the Board of Health, added, "These educators are an important component of the county's overall health strategy that was endorsed by the HAT Force and approved by the Council."

Sims also said introductory kick-off health meetings will be held for employees, retirees, and their families starting in February 2005. Look for a presentation invitation from the Health Matters team in late January/early February 2005.

The Health Matters Team includes:

Syd Phillips, project manager for the Health Matters program, holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan, and has worked as a community health education coordinator for Swedish Medical Center, developed curriculum for Catapult Training, and worked as a technical writer and project manager at Microsoft.

Marilyn Reardon holds a BA degree in Education from the State University of New York at Oswego and has held positions both as corporate trainer and Regional Training and Development Manager for Weyerhaeuser Company. Subsequent to her time at Weyerhaeuser, she spent nine years as manager of Employee and Organizational Development for Sacred Heart Medical Center (PeaceHealth) in Eugene, OR. Before joining King County, she was a consultant in private practice in the specialty areas of management and organizational development.

Pam Mitchell holds a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Washington and has worked for Group Health, The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and most recently the Washington State Department of Health. Her primary area of focus has been chronic disease prevention and early detection, and she has worked on topics ranging from diabetes, smoking cessation, dietary intervention as well as cancer prevention and control in her 15 years as a health educator.

Paulo Nunes-Ueno, a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of Arts, worked for several years as a theatre director developing new plays by Latino playwrights. Subsequently he worked as a technical writer at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. In 2000 he took a position with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals where he worked on communications for a large culture change project. In 2002 he moved to Osaka, Japan to work as a training consultant for Japanese companies and branches of government.