It’s not often a Fitbit device meets a hair dryer, but in the case of Bill Griffin, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Baptist, that’s exactly what happened while on vacation.
But that story comes years after Griffin joined HumanaVitality when Baptist first offered it in 2013. From the start, Griffin understood that joining meant a long-term commitment to a program, not a fitness regime.
“This is really about dedication to a program. I got my wife and daughter involved so we could all earn points as a family. It’s difficult to earn points just by exercise alone, but luckily there’s plenty of other ways to earn other than fitness,” he said.
He points out the program looks at his health as a whole and includes assessments, tracking annual exams, wellness education, and fitness plus much more. And after three years, he now understands that not all years look the same. Work and life demands dictate just how much an individual can do, but you can still stay engaged in your health.
“I was more active in the early years but I’m not yet as active this year because of personal time constraints. I need to get back to exercising frequently but in the meantime I’m earning points with activities like my dental visit and Vitality Check. ”
Despite the changes in his free time, he still wears his Fitbit and tries to measure his daily steps around Baptist. In fact, he acknowledges his attachment to the device may be a little unusual. “As someone who goes into something with everything I got, it’s the same with this Fitbit. I’m never parted from it.”
So, how does a Fitbit meet a hair dryer? In Griffin’s case, it happened during a family trip to Florida where he hoped to walk 30,000 steps in a day. “I was at 29,000 steps and determined to beat my own personal one-day record.” One afternoon however, he jumped in the pool with the device in his pocket. “I panicked when it started buzzing and blinking! I ran up to the room and grabbed the blow dryer, hoping I could dry it out and save my steps. It died,” he said with a laugh. As he will be the first to admit, it’s hard to keep a driven personality down. “We went back last year and I did hit 30,000 steps!”
Griffin encourages anyone who is considering joining HumanaVitality to go ahead and make the move, especially because of the points. “The primary driver for participating is improving your health but other benefits make it worthwhile, too. You can realize a savings in your health plan premiums if you reach a certain status level. Even if you don’t hit the goal that allows you to get the insurance discount, the points accumulate and roll over each year allowing you to purchase items from the Vitality Mall.” And as he points out, after three years his choice wasn’t small. “It allowed me to get a free Trek bike that’s probably valued at around $800.”
Griffin enjoys that the technology is improving, especially the ability to report wellness check-ups and sync information through MyChart. “Humana will accept documents from MyChart, so you can scan and email your documents.”
Looking ahead, Griffin says he will continue to participate in the program because it’s motivational and rewarding. “If you don’t do it for any other reason, just do it to raise the awareness of your own health and to lower the cost of your premiums.”