June 6, 2013 —Teachers, faculty, and staff in the Bethel and Springfield school districts are a little healthier following the PacificSource Healthy Life Schools Challenge, having consumed nearly 40,000 servings of fruits and vegetables and exercising for 323,563 minutes over the month-long friendly competition. Some highlights of the awareness challenge included:
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Nearly 600 teachers, faculty and staff participated in the event
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Participants consumed nearly 40,000 servings of fruits and vegetables
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Nearly 10,000 unhealthy snacks were replaced with healthier options
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Participants exercised a total of 323,563 minutes (5,393 hours)
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12,299 sedentary activities were replaced with physical activity
“Sometimes just being aware of what you’re consuming and how active you are is enough to effect real change in an individual’s lifestyle and health,” said Alexa Shook, director of Healthy Life for PacificSource Health Plans. “The Healthy Life Schools Challenge gives school district staff the opportunity to lead by example, while giving students the chance to encourage staff and hold them accountable to the program.”
Within the competition, Thurston Elementary School, Briggs Middle School, and Springfield High School consumed the highest percentages of fruits and vegetables, and are each being rewarded for their participation and dedication with $1,000 donations from PacificSource Healthy Life to be used toward health and wellness programs at their respective schools.
“Replacing unhealthy snacks with fruits and veggies is easy and we enjoyed it,” said Brooke Wagner, Principal of Thurston Elementary School. “We talked about it with students weekly at our morning meeting, and we tied it to our jog-a-thon as another example of how to stay healthy.”
Participants tracked their daily intake of fruits and vegetables online, and were held accountable by fellow staffers as well as students.
According to Shook, the goals of the Challenge were to have teachers set a good example for their students and to convey that incorporating simple changes into someone’s diet and exercise routine can have a tremendous impact on overall health and long-term behavior change.
About PacificSource Health Plans:
Ranked “Highest in Member Satisfaction Among Commercial Health Plans in the Northwest” by J.D. Power and Associates in 2013, PacificSource Health Plans is an independent, not-for-profit community health plan serving the Northwest. Founded in 1933, PacificSource is based in Eugene, Oregon, with local offices throughout Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The PacificSource family of companies employs 700 people, serves more than 300,000 individuals, and has 6,200 employer clients throughout the Northwest. PacificSource Community Health Plans, Inc. is a subsidiary of PacificSource Health Plans and markets Medicare Advantage products under the name PacificSource Medicare. For more information visit pacificsource.com.
