How Healthcare Organizations Are Addressing Childhood Obesity, a September 23, 2004 audio conference on CD-ROM, covers how healthcare organizations are beginning to address childhood obesity.

Results from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 15 percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 years are overweight, representing almost 9 million children and adolescents -- triple what the proportion was in 1980.

During this 90-minute audio conference on CD-ROM, our speakers address the factors driving this epidemic and the role of healthcare organizations in creating weight management programs aimed specifically at children.

Our expert panel includes:

• Dr. Eric Berman, Medical Director and Chairman of Health Policy at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
• Dr. Barbara Moore, President and CEO, Shape Up America!

You'll get details on:

• Assessing overweight/obese children;
• Prevention of obesity in children;
• Development of the childhood weight management program at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey;
• Engaging the child's support network -- family, school and community resources; and
• Program features and strategies.

Special Bonus

With your CD-ROM purchase, you will receive a free Copy of “Health Care Dollars and $ense: The Impact of Obesity and Health Literacy,” a DVD produced by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The 15-minute program provides an overview of the impact of obesity and health literacy and how Horizon is addressing these issues in New Jersey in a program endorsed by the state.

Here's what participants said about the live audio conference:

"Practical interventions offered related to obesity," said Elise Hogge, clinical product specialist with Health Management Corporation

"This conference graphically showed the far-reaching impact of obesity on our society," said Doniese Wilcox, Parent and Family Education Coordinator at Avera McKenna Hospital

"Very motivating program," said Doreen Blunck, Lead Dietitian at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.

"Good to have this level of expertise to augment on our own," said Betty Barto, Parent Educator at Avera McKenna Hospital

You can "attend" this program right in your office and enjoy significant savings – no travel time or hassle; no hotel expenses. It’s so convenient! Invite your staff members to listen to the CD-ROM.

Who Will Benefit from this audio-conference?

CEOs, medical directors, disease management directors, managers and coordinators, health plan executives, care management nurses, business development and strategic planning directors.

About our Panelists:

Dr. Eric Berman

Eric J. Berman, DO, MS, has served as a medical director for Horizon BCBSNJ and their Joint Venture with AtlantiCare Health System since September 2001. In these capacities Dr. Berman has spearheaded numerous innovative approaches to key issues challenging today’s’ health care industry. These topics include Health Policy, Genetic Testing and Therapeutics, New Strategies in Utilization Management, Physician Incentive Programs, the expanded role of Integrated Delivery Systems, and Community/Corporate Health and Wellness Education Programs. Dr. Berman has been the architect of several creative Health Policy initiatives addressing Obesity and Health Literacy and their impact on the health and well being of all NJ residents.

One recent example is Horizons’ Dollars and $ense, Executive Health Policy Forum held in Princeton, NJ on October 10, 2003. Presenters included experts on health policy, Dr. David Nash, obesity, Dr. Barbara Moore, and health literacy, Dr. Albert Barnett, and New Jersey First Lady Dina McGreevey. The event was emceed by Susan Dentzer, Health Correspondent, for the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. During his short tenure, Dr. Berman has emerged as an integral part of the Health Affairs Medical Management team and as a passionate and dynamic proponent of private sector involvement in health and wellness related community based initiatives.

Dr. Eric Berman attended American University in Washington, DC where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree with a double major in 1979 and his Masters Degree in 1983. He graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ/SOM) in 1987 and served as a Chief Intern at Kennedy Memorial Hospital – University Medical Center in Stratford, NJ. He served as a Pediatric Resident and then as an Emergency Medicine attending physician until 1990.

In 1990 he was employed as an attending physician for South Jersey Health System where he became the Director and Founding Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine until 1996. From 1996 until 2000 he was a Full Partner and COO of a large Family Medicine practice in Bridgeton where he practiced Family and Integrative Medicine. In 2000 he was appointed as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at UMDNJ/SOM and also acted as Physician Advisor for the South Jersey Health System until joining Horizon BCBSNJ in September 2001. Dr. Berman is Board Certified in Family Medicine, Osteopathic Manual Medicine, and is a Registered Physician Acupuncturist.

Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D.

Since 1995, Dr. Moore has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Shape Up America!, a national campaign founded by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in 1994. The mission of Shape Up America! is to provide science-based information to the public, health care professionals, educators, policymakers and the media on healthy weight management achieved through healthy eating and increased physical activity. Shape Up America! is working to raise awareness that obesity is a health issue and healthy weight management reduces illness, saves money and lives. Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death, responsible for 300,000 deaths in the United States annually.

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine in Washington DC appointed Dr. Moore to serve on its committee to develop an “Action Plan to Prevent Obesity in Children and Youth.” This is her second appointment by the Institute of Medicine, having served since 2001 on a sub-committee to address the growing problem of weight management in the U.S. armed forces.

From 1989 to 1993, Dr. Moore was chief nutritionist and primary technical policy advisor worldwide for Weight Watchers International, owned at that time, by H.J. Heinz. She worked on technical issues with regulatory agencies at the federal, state, and local level in both the United States and Canada. In this position she began to acquire her training and experience as technical spokesperson in the print and broadcast media, on Capitol Hill and at the federal and state legislative level.

Dr. Moore joined the Executive Office of the President within the Science Division of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in 1993 where she was involved in the process of national policy formation and budgetary support of fundamental scientific research. She returned to OSTP in 1995 where she served as Chief of Staff in the National Security and International Science Division.

In 1994, Dr. Moore joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Division of Nutrition Research Coordination (DNRC). The DNRC serves as the nutrition research coordinating unit within the NIH and is responsible for providing guidance on nutrition policy and dietary guidance materials promulgated by the federal government. In this position, Dr. Moore focused on the development of the 1994 Progress Report to the Assistant Secretary of Health on the nutrition objectives of Healthy People 2000. She also sat on the Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research (IBNMRR) and the Nutrition Policy Board. She was a key organizer of the national forum, “Health, Safety, and Food for America,” sponsored by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

Dr. Moore holds a B.A. from Skidmore College, a master’s and doctorate in nutrition from the Institute for Human Nutrition at Columbia University. Her postdoctoral training was at the University of California at Davis. She was appointed Henry Rutgers Fellow at Rutgers University, where she held a tenure track position in the Department of Nutritional Sciences.

Cancellation Policy: To receive a refund, notice is required at least seven business days prior to the audio conference. With proper notice, fees are refunded minus a $40 service fee. No refunds are given for cancellations received with less than seven days notice. The Healthcare Intelligence Network reserves the right to cancel or reschedule an audio conference, due to unforeseen circumstances.

Click here to register for the live program only or purchase the CD-ROM of the conference proceedings.