October 01, 2008 04:40 PM Eastern Time 

Hurricane-Tested Houston Now Ready to Prepare for the Country’s Category 5 Heathcare Crisis

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hurricane Ike hit Houston hard less than two weeks ago, but already health leadership is hunkering down to address healthcare issues that affect not only people in the Gulf-coast Region but those around the country.

The 2008 Wellness Symposium will be held on November 13th-14th at Minute Maid Park/Union Station in Downtown Houston. This two-day event will be put on by the Houston Wellness Association (HWA), an organization established by the Mayor’s Wellness Council, and will include an Obesity Summit and Worksite Wellness Conference.

“The Symposium will bring together leaders from the Private, Public, Not-For-Profit, Medical and Academic sectors to address the crisis of obesity with action and real worksite wellness solutions,” said Mayor Bill White, mayor of Houston. “With strong leadership, the largest medical center in the world, and a multicultural population, we are perfectly positioned to tackle this issue head-on. Houston is not in denial.”

The Obesity Summit, to be held Thursday, November 13, will focus on the personal, physiologic, economic, and environmental impacts of obesity and feature world-renowned experts in obesity, including Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, 17^th Surgeon General of the United States and president of the non-profit Canyon Ranch Institute. The second day of the Wellness Symposium will host the second-annual Worksite Wellness Conference, created to cover the latest information on improving employee health to increase productivity and profits.

CIGNA and KelseyCare are the 2008 Wellness Symposium Title Sponsors.

“Houstonians, Galvestonians and our surrounding communities should be commended for how we have handled storms Ike, Rita, Katrina, Allison and Carla, “ said Jonathan H. Lack, Executive Director of the HWA. “We need to apply this same kind of focused attention to our man-made healthcare crisis, which is even bigger, even more financially costly than Ike and all of these terrible natural disasters combined. The same can-do spirit that Houstonians have shown in handling these natural disasters is the reason why Houston will help lead our nation out of our healthcare crisis.”

For information on the 2008 Wellness Symposium or Symposium sponsorship opportunities, visit houstonwellness.org, call 713.357.9515, contact Jonathan H. Lack, HWA Executive Director (jlack@houstonwellness.org) or Bill Krull, HWA Membership Director (bkrull@houstonwellness.org). For media inquiries, please call Laura Mayes, 713.523.7900 (lmayes@mmihouston.com).