Photos by Lisa Aurand
Two years ago, Jennifer Miglietti and her husband used to watch up to five hours of television a night.
Now Miglietti, human resources business partner for the City of Dublin, might watch a total of five hours a week. More often, you’ll find her at the gym. The couple works out there three nights a week. And if you haven’t seen her in a few years, you might not be able to spot her – though she’s likely in her usual place on an elliptical machine.
Miglietti, down about 120 pounds, is barely recognizable. She’s not the same person she was before – so hindered from the pain in her arthritic knees that regular exercise seemed like an impossibility.
A change in the City’s health care plan prompted the Migliettis to start on their journey to better health. Two years ago, the City switched from a preferred provider organization plan to a consumer-driven health care plan.
The plan has a high deductible, but an optional program called “Healthy by Choice” allows employees the opportunity to earn a significant contribution to their health savings accounts by meeting requirements in the categories of cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index and tobacco use, says Mollie Steiner, the City’s wellness coordinator.
“My husband and I had a couple (requirements) that we were missing because we were really overweight,” Miglietti says. The couple took their first steps toward good health with two small changes: diet and exercise.
“We decided we were going to stop spending the huge budget we had for eating out and get personal training,” Miglietti says.
Calorie counting worked, and they began shedding pounds. Their weight loss sped up about six months later after Miglietti attended a course – offered by the Worthington-based Wellness Forum through Healthy by Choice – on plant-based eating. Employees enrolled in the program are required to take two city-provided health classes each year. The couple adopted a mostly vegan diet and, except for occasional slip-ups and intentional indulgences, hasn’t looked back.
“That was where we left all of our old habits behind,” Miglietti says of their radical lifestyle change after she took the course. In addition to helping Miglietti lose weight, the eating program dramatically improved her day-to-day quality of life.
“I have severe arthritis in my knees,” Miglietti says. “When we switched to a plant-based lifestyle, the pain went from a 9 out of 10 to a 1. … It was incredibly significant.” She’s also noticed the reverse is true; if she goes back to her old eating habits, the pain returns.
“Before, I was just so used to feeling crummy all the time,” she says. “Now, when I do eat bad, … I definitely feel the results of that.”
Currently she meets all of the Healthy by Choice goals, earning the maximum contribution to her health savings account.
The City also administers an incentive program to encourage positive day-to-day health choices. Participation in a walking group, a bone-building program, a strength training class and a “Got Water?” program all rack up “wellness points” that employees can spend to buy City-branded clothing, Dublin Community Recreation Center memberships for their families, Abbey Theater tickets and small group training classes. Miglietti has used her points to buy day passes to the rec center for friends and family.
The result of the two incentive programs? Nearly flat medical costs to the City, Steiner says. “(It) bends the trend,” she says. “Our actual costs have been below our projected costs for the last couple of years.”
Over time, employees have come to embrace the program, especially the incentives, she says. “I think people understand … we’re trying to encourage them to be stewards of their own health and give them incentives to engage in those right decisions.”
Dublin residents have their own set of incentives toward health. In addition to the discounted rec center memberships, educational programming and other benefits are offered through Healthy Dublin, a partnership with seven other community organizations, including the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Dublin Methodist Hospital.
Steiner is also liaison to Healthy Dublin. The organization tracks the health of resident volunteers, provides free biometric health screenings and helps promote health- and fitness-related events, such as a substance-abuse prevention presentation from anti-drug nonprofit Tyler’s Light in partnership with the group Parents Encouraging Responsible Choices.
Miglietti encourages those who want to make positive changes in their health to start with food.
“Just start by tracking your calories. Be aware of what you’re eating. Sometimes it’s really a slap in the face to see. … Write down every morsel of food you put in your mouth and evaluate it. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can’t ever change it.”
Miglietti still has 40 to 50 pounds to lose to reach her ultimate goal, but she’s proud of how far she’s come.
“You do miss certain things. You’re always going to miss ice cream, cheese and cake and stuff like that, but feeling good totally outweighs passing up on something in the moment,” she says. “I’m not finished with my journey yet, but I have motivation.”
Lisa Aurand is editor of Dublin Life Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
