How well does wellness concept work in our society?

I really believe the health industry's fighting an uphill battle on this one.

Now I don't know about you, but "wellness" doesn't conjure up familiar images to me. Say "well done," and I'm thinking a nice, fat T-bone. Throw out "wellhead" and my thoughts travel into the oilpatch. Well-groomed, well-disposed, well-conditioned, well-read, wellspring ... no problem. But this new catch phrase of today's health care reform, wellness, just doesn't catch anything for me.

According to Dr. Dawnella Rust of Rose State College, wellness refers to self responsibility, which at first glance seems to make sense. Applied to health care, wellness is primary prevention. "Let's stop the problem from ever happening." Now that's well and good, but in real life it seems well near impossible. Take me, for instance. One look at that overly smug garbanzo of a face and you might think, "Where'd he ever get a schnoz that big?" And that would be wrong, for you're thinking well-nose, not wellness. And that's the whole point. I'll give you another example. A classic we've all experienced. I'm writing this seated smack dab in front of the TV, comfy in my red speckled cotton briefs, watching the late night syrup of reruns as I'm sipping down my second glass of Classic Coke and munching on a bag of M&Ms bouncing on my spongy chest. So far, so good; nothing too unusual there. It's a proven fact that most of the best ideas come from people sitting around in their underwear eating M&Ms in the wee hours of the morning. I think it has something to do with the red dyes in that candy shell, plus the fact that since the Earth's rolled around, we're only getting bathed in sunspot spew reflected off the moon. Second-hand radiation's just not as harmful as the real McCoy, you know. But that's another column. The key point here is the bouncing. Now picture this: here I am, the paragon of self-responsibility who's not the least bit worried about his heart, catching my fair share of the late night tube. There's the automotive hucksters trying to slip me into a well- financed car, beer brewers trying to slip me into a drink, and well- endowed models trying to slip me into... well, never mind that. Anyway, I'm sitting here and I'm thinking -- this is good. I'm participating in the economic system, just as my well-rounded capitalist friends would want it. Toss in the sizzling steak ads that came before and you've got a good picture of what drives Americana: fat food, increasingly big American trucks, glorified boozing by sporting giants around tiny mountain peaks, and unadulterated sex. The perfect environment for anyone promoting wellness. OK, so I'm somewhat sarcastic. But it still looks like a tough sell. Yet in a real effort to contain health care inflation, industry leaders at all levels are touting the importance of wellness, and many Americans do seem to be listening. Red meat sales have been falling for awhile now, and there sure seem to be a lot of Ab Buster infomercials. To keep up with the demand for wellness personnel, the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education have approved Rose State's bid to offer an Associate Science in Wellness degree, both to prepare students for new job possibilities and to better educate the public. "What I think is really neat about this program is very early it will show you options," said Rust, wellness coordinator at the Midwest City college. "With society talking more and more about preventive medicine and health care costs, there will be more job opportunities, and students will see these opportunities through this program." They also will face the challenge of a lifetime, trying to convert all of us undisciplined, late-night M&M munchers into ab-busting enthusiasts. And believe me, it will be a challenge. For it's hard to guzzle Coke when you're inside those contraptions, and the M&Ms bounce even farther when your gut's well-near busted. Construction Work will begin in October on a two-story, 34,000-square-foot Ambulatory Surgery Center, just northeast of the St. Anthony North Sportsciences building at 6201 N. Santa Fe Ave., 63rd Street and Broadway Extension. The $3.4 million facility will house four operating rooms on the ground floor, with physician offices on the second. Initial equipment and start-up costs will be financed by Ambulatory Surgical Center LLC, a limited partnership consisting of St. Anthony Hospital and 20 participating physicians. Its first year operating budget is projected at about $1.7 million. Randy Hogan of TMK-Hogan Commercial Real Estate Services will develop the center from designs by John Ward of TAP, The Architectural Partnership. A contractor has not been selected. Overseeing development of the surgery center is James Hyde, president of Bone and Joint Hospital, an affiliate of SSM Health Care of Oklahoma. Techniques St. Anthony Hospital has acquired a computerized system to simplify and cut costs in stereotactic biopsy. Rather than prescribe a biopsy, the examining doctor may localize and define the tumor via the computer. A needle then is inserted to take several specimens from the core. "There are no films, therefore no wait for development," said Dr. Jill Hast, a radiologist. "The computer brings up the image directly and gives us immediate feedback. "The cost savings is considerable. There is no cost for hospital stay, nor a general anesthetic. The cost for this procedure is estimated as being one half the cost of surgery. In addition, the fear and anxiety normally experienced with surgery by the patient is greatly reduced, if not gone. A woman can walk in here, have the stereotactic biopsy in 30 minutes, and drive herself back home or to work. Lastly, there's no scarring." Surgeons and radiologists may perform the procedure. Gatherings Mayor Ron Norick will host Expo `96, the statewide conference on disability concerns, from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Clarion Hotel, 4345 N. Lincoln Blvd. The conference, titled "Empowerment through Education," will address business concerns with the American With Disabilities Act, as well as physical and attitudinal barriers affecting persons with disabilities. A variety of seminars and exhibitions will showcase technical, educational, medical and employment advances. "Participants will see and hear how the lives of persons with disabilities may be improved through technology and understanding," said Conference Chair Bob Gilmore. The Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience will hold its fifth annual symposium Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Marriott Hotel, 3233 Northwest Expressway. Sponsored by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Center for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Disorders of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the symposium will highlight the latest advances in understanding brain injury as it occurs in head trauma, stroke, chronic alcohol use, and exposure to chemical toxins. These topics will be covered in detail in both scientific and lay programs. The luncheon will feature a public lecture by Dr. Peter Spencer, director of the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at the Oregon Health Sciences University. Spencer is a pioneer in the identification of toxic chemicals in the environment that contribute to human neurological diseases and has been especially active in identifying contaminants in food that can produce Parkinsonian and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)-like syndromes. The scientific program will feature lectures by eight internationally renowned neuroscientists, including Dr. Dennis Choi, Jones Professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Washington University; Dr. L. Philip Carter, professor and chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Health Sciences Center; and Dr. Peggy Wisdom, associate professor in the Department of Neurology at the Health Sciences Center and chief of Neurology Service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Other neuroscientists scheduled to deliver lectures are Tomas Guilarte, professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Peter Martin, professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University; Sara Nixon, associate professor in the OU Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Robert Floyd, director of the Program in Free Radical Biology and Aging at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation; and Dr. Doyle Graham, chairman of the Department of Pathology at Vanderbilt University. At the Health Sciences Center on Oct. 4 will be a one-day course addressing the interaction between primary care providers and pediatric orthopedists. Course faculty are Dr. Curtis Gruel, Dr. William A. Herndon and Dr. J. Andy Sullivan, all full-time faculty of the OU Orthopedic Surgery Department's Pediatric Section; Dr. William A. Grana, the founder of the Oklahoma Center for Athletes at the Center for Healthy Living; Dr. James R. Barrett, a full-time faculty member in the OU Department of Family Medicine; and Dr. Steven G. Krause, a practicing pediatrician at Mercy Health Center. The course will take place in the Robert M. Bird Library Auditorium, 1000 Stanton L. Young Blvd. People J. Gary Brown has been named to the steering committee of the American College of Rehabilitation, Orthopedic and Neurological Care Administrators. Brown is the director of the NeuroScience Institute at Mercy, a comprehensive center for diagnosis, treatment and research of neurological disorders located at Mercy Health Center. Kirby Davis welcomes your comments and contributions. Reach him at (405) 278-2843, by fax at 278-2890, or by e-mail address, dpage

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