If business executives took better care of
themselves, they would stretch their life
spans. Too often, they don’t. Reasons for pushing aside their health care needs
include not being able to take time away
from management duties, inertia, feeling
invulnerable and out of control of the situation or a macho stereotype reflective of both
male and female executives that believe
consulting a doctor is a sign of weakness.
With the New Year in full swing, what can
managers do to improve their health?
Smart Business turned to Barry Arbuckle,
Ph.D., president and CEO of MemorialCare
Medical Centers and immediate past chair
of the California Hospital Association, for
advice. And it’s advice you may wish to share
with your associates, families and friends.
How serious is the situation?
For years, research revealed that too many
men stayed away from physician visits and
health screenings — activities that can spot
medical concerns before they become more
serious. Now we’re seeing executives of
both genders skipping medical visits and
screenings. While women traditionally have
a history of doctors’ visits, know the health
system and find it less threatening, when
men and women transition into the management suite, too often, they put their health
needs on the back burner. Managers spend
so much time taking care of employees that
they often forget to take care of themselves.
When do problems arise?
Because of the level of stress associated
with management — which often translates
into poor eating habits, lack of exercise and
not enough attention to age-related screenings — serious health problems can occur
at any age. Worsening the situation are managers more likely to cancel appointments
because they feel they can’t get away from
work and who are less likely to take medications as directed, according to our
MemorialCare physicians.
What steps should be taken?
Because tests and treatments can add
years and quality to one’s life, executives
can no longer avoid health screenings,
ignore warning signs and hide emotions.
The best time to visit a doctor is when you
are well. This allows physicians to assess
your overall physical condition through
proper tests and screenings and get a baseline to observe future health.
Why are checkups so important?
Regular checkups and screenings tailored
to your age, gender, personal and family
history, and lifestyle can lead to early detection and quick treatment of many ‘silent’
disorders lacking obvious symptoms.
These include high blood pressure, heart
and vascular disease, diabetes, thyroid
conditions, urinary tract infections and
cancer. When test results warn of growing
cholesterol levels, precancerous polyps in
the colon, abnormal pap smear or other
health issues, it allows you and your physician to map out a plan to lower the risk of
serious disease because you are identifying
concerns in their most treatable stages.
You can no longer dodge the doctor when
faced with serious problems such as
shortness of breath and chest pain. Some of
the most common medical conditions men
and women face as they age can be cured
or controlled if caught early. Diseases like
diabetes are also partly the result of an
unhealthy lifestyle aggravated by stress,
which allows for control by adopting better
health habits.
What about more gender-specific diseases?
While men and women are screened for
and adopt preventive measures for diseases
that mainly afflict their gender, each is also
susceptible to each other’s ailments. Nearly
2 million men age 65 or older have disabling
bone disease and nearly twice that number
are at risk. Older men suffering hip fractures have more than three times the risk as
women of dying within a year. And while in
much smaller numbers, men are diagnosed
with breast cancer, contract bladder infections half as often as women and are
increasingly subject to eating disorders.
With more women smoking at an early age,
their numbers of lung cancer and vascular
and heart disease are climbing and often
are much more disabling than when men
have these diseases. More women, for
example, die of heart disease then men.
Where should I start?
Take responsibility for your health. Get
regular checkups, preventive screenings,
tests and immunizations. Your physician
can determine how often they are needed.
Make prevention a part of your business.
Collaborate with hospitals, physicians
and health plans to offer health programs,
preventive techniques and screenings at
your site or another convenient location.
MemorialCare’s business outreach programs include executive physicals and
on-site seminars. Additionally, our Web site,
memorialcare.org, offers free online tools,
calculators, guides and referrals to physicians that can help you and your work force
reach the goal of a healthier life.
BARRY ARBUCKLE, Ph.D., is president and CEO of MemorialCare Medical Centers (www.memorialcare.org) and past chair of the
California Hospital Association. Reach him at [email protected] or (562) 933-9708. MemorialCare Medical Centers include
Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley,
Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach.
President and CEO
MemorialCare Medical Centers
