What is HELPcare?
I retired from Mayo Clinic in August after 21 years to found HELPcare, which we are launching officially today.
I started at Mayo as a member of the Media Relations team in April 2000 and became its manager late in 2003. In that role I had opportunities to help share stories of amazing medical research and surgical accomplishments, including three separations of conjoined twins in one year.
Because of Mayo Clinic's stature, our team got to work with not only local and regional media but also national and international outlets. Not bad given our location in relatively rural Minnesota.
As social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were created, I saw the opportunity to not only reach audiences through traditional media, but also to connect directly with potential patients.
Mayo Clinic became one of the earliest health care adopters of these social media tools, as well as blogs, and I was blessed to be in position to encourage this development. We created the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media in 2010 and eventually the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network, which was a resource for Mayo Clinic staff and also for peers elsewhere who wanted to apply social media in their work.
My physician partner in this effort was Farris Timimi, M.D., and our social media team was a joy, as together we explored creative applications of social media platforms and digital tools. Our Public Affairs and Marketing colleagues who joined in this effort contributed outstanding storytelling and helped us harness the powerful platforms to serve strategic purposes.
We held annual health care social media conferences at Mayo Clinic for about 10 years and even hosted two international conferences in Australia and one in Dubai. I got to speak about our work in a dozen countries on five continents, and in at least 40 states.
I enjoyed learning together with others who were interested in using social media to promote health, fight disease and improve health care, including colleagues who served on our External Advisory Board.
Why would I leave such a great job?
About five years ago, my wife Lisa and I embarked on a health journey that led to us each losing more than 50 pounds. I now weigh three pounds more than I did 40 years ago in high school, but my waist is two inches smaller.
Lisa got into her wedding dress in November 2020 for the first time since we were married Dec. 22, 1984.
We both feel healthier than we have for at least 25 years.
And we did it by doing essentially the opposite of what the U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend. Here's our story:
We didn't disregard the official dietary guidance lightly. We learned from people I came to call my Health Sherpas.
- Journalists like Nina Teicholz and Gary Taubes who investigated the origins of low-fat dogma and exposed the lack of evidence.
- Courageous physicians like Prof. Tim Noakes and Dr. Gary Fettke who faced serious professional consequences for challenging dietary orthodoxy.
- Pioneers like Dr. David Unwin and Dr. Sarah Hallberg who applied low-carb interventions in large groups of patients and actually helped them reverse type 2 diabetes.
- Many other researchers including Ph.D.'s like Ben Bikman, David Diamond, Zoe Harcombe, Thomas Seyfried, Matt Walker, David Sinclair and Rhonda Patrick, as well as M.D.'s like Jason Fung, Robert Lustig, Peter Attia, Paul Mason, Ken Berry, Bret Scher, William Davis,
- Citizen scientist activists including Dave Feldman, Siobhan Huggins, L. Amber O'Hearn, Ivor Cummins, Doug Reynolds, and Chris Cornell.
The more we explored and learned — and applied what we were learning to get outstanding results in our health —the more convinced we became that the food pyramid needed to be turned upside down.
We also learned from my high school classmate and friend, Dr. David Strobel. He's been interested in Metabolic Syndrome for many years, and has come to understand that for most Americans the current food environment is toxic.
A New Model of Health Care and Support
With my social media background and the coaching Lisa and I have done to help others get similar results, we saw an opportunity to help many more people.
That's why we created HELPcare, to provide education, peer support and metabolic health coaching to anyone, anywhere.
Get a free 30-day trial of HELPcare Community and learn more about HELPcare Coach.
In addition to his Metabolic Syndrome focus, Dr. Strobel has been interested in developing a community medical practice that is affordable, personal and effective. His new clinic, which opens in February in our hometown of Austin, Minnesota, will be called HELPcare Clinic.
HELPcare will provide management services for HELPcare Clinic, and also will make community and coaching available to its patients, along with educational videos from Dr. Strobel.
Restoring the Soul of Health Care
For those who can't take advantage of HELPcare Clinic, HELPcare Community and HELPcare Coach are available anywhere.
We believe the combination of an affordable, unhurried, personal health care experience with education, peer support and coaching will significantly improve the lives of HELPcare Clinic members.
We're starting in Austin, and we hope this approach will inspire others to join with us in Restoring the Soul of Health Care.
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I click on the link above for the free 30-day trial which brings me to another page (landing) that says click here for free download which brings me to the discussion page. I am not getting anything to download and I am not finding a way to sign up for e-mails weekly.
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1 ReactionThanks for your comment. We're working on automating the process, but as we're getting started it's a bit more manual. If you go to this discussion thread you should be able to download the PDF. https://helpcare.health/discussion/help-the-health-energy-longevity-plan/?pg=1#comment-143416
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