They say a picture speaks a thousand words. For Gayle Lynn Miller, that picture was a snapshot of her taken at a friend’s 60^th birthday party—and it said, “Something needs to change.”

Miller, a pathology clerk at Roseville Medical Center, had spent the better part of 2010 in casts after fracturing one leg and then the other. The injuries offered her little opportunity for exercise, and before she knew it, the pounds had crept on.

“I looked at the photo of myself from the party and thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I need to do something,’ ” Miller says. “I didn’t like what I saw.”

Miller also didn’t like how she was feeling. Blood tests from a routine check-up indicated that her sugars and cholesterol were at pre-diabetic levels, and she often found herself breathless and needing to stop several times on the walk to her car.

‘Something was wrong’

“I don’t smoke or drink, so it was a real sign that something was wrong,” she says.

As an SEIU UHW shop steward, Miller knew that taking the Total Health Assessment was a priority—and a Performance Sharing Program (PSP) goal—in the Northern California region. But more importantly, she was eager for some help.

So Miller took the THA, and it confirmed what she already suspected: Her weight gain had become a health issue. But it also gave her the tools to address the problem. She credits the THA with changing her life.

“If I hadn’t taken it, I’m sure I’ve would have just continued getting bigger,” she says.

Shedding 50 pounds

Gayle Miller nowThe THA not only gave her a picture of her current health, it connected her with—and continues to provide her with—resources to improve her health, including counseling and Healthy Living classes and podcasts. With their help, Miller has shed more than 50 pounds and dropped four clothing sizes since March 1. More importantly, she reversed her cholesterol and blood sugars to normal levels.

Miller’s dramatic weight loss inspired others in her department.

“I noticed that Gayle had lost so much weight,” recalls cytotechnologist Amalia Villafan. “I asked, ‘What are you doing? You look great.’ ”

The answer was walking an hour every day and changing her diet, which previously included lots of sweets and carbohydrates. Villafan began walking with Miller, and eventually a dozen co-workers joined them, starting an informal walking club. The group walks the perimeter of the Roseville campus during breaks and lunch.

“It’s amazing,” Villafan said. “It really does work. Just walking this little bit, I’ve lost 10 pounds this year.”

Healthier—and happier

Miller likes to say that the benefits of the Total Health Assessment go beyond the potential compensation it offers as a PSP goal. It paid off by helping her become healthier and happier. The proof is in the photos of her today.

“When Kaiser gives out T-shirts and they ask, ‘What size?’—what a great feeling it is to be in a single digit.”

As of August, 16 percent of Northern California employees had completed the Total Health Assessment, surpassing the PSP threshold target of 15 percent. The 2011 goal is 30 percent.

To take the Total Health Assessment in Northern California, log onto www.kplivewellbewell.org and click on Total Health Assessment. In other regions, please visit the Healthy Workforce website.