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Health Leadership Forum IV: The Leadership Dividend


King County Executive Ron Sims spoke to county leadersMore than 200 Department Directors, Division Directors, Deputy Directors and top managers from across King County convened June 24 at Town Hall, Seattle for the fourth annual Health Leadership Forum. (Note: Windows Media Player This link will take you to an external Web site (not part of the King County Web site). is required to access the videos below.)

Remarks from King County Executive Ron Sims

King County Executive Ron Sims inspired county leaders with his comments about the need for work life balance to achieve good health.

Moderator Judy Clegg and Dr. Ron Goetzel during the Q & A session.
Q&A with Dr. Ron Goetzel, PhD

Moderator Judy Clegg engaged Dr. Ron Goetzel Researching the relationship between health and “well hours” worked, where in just two years, King County has shown significant improvement in 12 of 14 health behaviors.

Video: King County Health Heroes — Building a Community of Wellness

Meet inspiring employees from worksites throughout King County government.

  • Part I: Dr. Emily Transue of the Polyclinic explains why health awareness in the workplace is essential for making a long term changes in behavior; meanwhile DOT employees are leading a fitness revolution that is changing attitudes from South Base, to the Director's office
  • Part II: A visit to Brightwater demonstrates the ingenuity of county employees embracing healthy habits in a rapidly changing construction environment; while at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center – a Superior Court Judge and Sherriff’s Office detective find workplace support for their very different -- and deeply personal -- motivations. 
  • Part III: DDES employees get it together on every floor of their busy Renton facility, with the timely help from management.

Table Top Exercise

county leaders take part in table top exercises during the 2008 Health Leadership ForumCounty managers engaged in a dynamic web-based exercise to learn powerful health information tools available to all county employees. These tools can help employees make choices about health care based on cost and quality and provides resources for being active partners in managing their own health.

Peggy has gallbladder disease
An exercise that uses a cost comparison tool to help Peggy find the most cost effective option for treatment.

Amy has a high risk pregnancy
An exercise that uses quality and safety comparison to help Amy find the best hospital for her high risk pregnancy.

Ben has diabetes
An exercise that uses a shared medical record to help Ben manage his diabetes.

Bill has low back pain
An exercise that uses the Washington Community CheckUp Report to check on evidence based guidelines for back pain treatment and clinic ratings for following the evidence based guidelines.

Fred has diabetes 
An exercise to help Fred actively manage his condition in partnership with his doctor at Group Health, as well as learn more about his condition and treatment.

Ashley needs a vaccination
An exercise that helps Ashley use a shared medical record to check the status of her tetanus vaccination and learn more about it.

Susan fills a prescription online
An exercise that uses online tools to choose the most cost effective drug and delivery method for filling a prescription.