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Win with Wellness is a community-wide effort in Mason County, Michigan to enhance healthy living through promotion of wellness. It is an ongoing program that features a number of opportunities to focus on weight loss, exercise, healthy eating and healthy living habits, as well as education on a wide variety of health topics and group support to help you accomplish your health goals. Health screenings will be provided to eligible adults on a quarterly basis at no cost - up to 300 people - to help determine and monitor blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) and triglyceride level. Twelve-hour fasting is required for the biometric screenings. You must be 18 years or older and have a primary care physician to participate in the health screenings. If you do not have a primary care physician, please call the Memorial Medical Center Physician Referral Line at (231) 845-2372.

Free Biometric Health Screenings


Win with Wellness will utilize biometric health screenings to measure:

1. Total cholesterol
2. HDL cholesterol
3. LDL cholesterol
4. Cholesterol ratio
5. Blood glucose
6. Triglyceride level
7. Blood pressure
8. Height
9. Weight
10. Body Mass Index (BMI)

Biometric health screenings will be offered at no cost on a quarterly basis at Memorial Medical Center (up to the first 300 participants to register). Participants will receive a print out of their results and each participant's physician will also receive a copy of their results. At the end of each quarter, participants will be screened for the same indicators with their results graphed to reveal trends in their overall health. All results are confidential.

Following the biometric health screenings, participants will have an opportunity to attend an educational session to receive information on a wide variety of health topics while also being able to discuss their biometric results with healthcare professionals, including registered dietitians and registered nurses.

Participants are strongly urged to review their results with their primary care physician.

Educational events are held throughout the year. During an event Feb. 28 at Ludington High School, Memorial Medical Center's Dr. Bret Autrey shared his story. See the Ludington Daily News coverage of the event below.


Winning with Wellness


By Melissa Keefer Daily News Staff Writer Dr. Bret Autrey's message to others taking steps toward healthier living is that diets just don't work, a lifestyle change must be made, and that is what he has done. Autrey and his wife, Tara, collectively have lost 140 pounds since April with lifestyle changes of eating healthier foods and limiting portion sizes as well as exercising. He started out talking about behaviors that put him at a weight he was not happy with. "I played football in college," Autrey said. "After college, I kept eating like I was still playing football. I started noticing my body composition change." When he went on to medical school he was busy and didn't have a lot of time to work out. He said he ate a lot of unhealthy foods. "When I got my own practice things got really busy and I didn't have time for breakfast, so I would get to the hospital at 7 a.m. and by 9 or 10 a.m. I would be hungry. I would get a bagel and then put on about three packets of peanut butter to make it taste good," Autrey said. He said the rest of the day he would go back and snack on doughnuts and drink a Diet Coke. "With those foods right there, that is about 1,300 calories with no substance in them," Autrey said. "So I would come home hungry after having junk all day and have what I call a traditional meal, a big piece of protein, some potatoes, a bit of vegetables and a big piece of bread." During this time, Autrey, a surgeon at Memorial Medical Center, said he wasn't exercising because he didn't think he had the energy or time. "My lack of energy was a big problem," he said, which was also why he was drinking the Diet Coke for the caffeine. At a certain point he said he thought "I was too far gone" to start working out and changing his lifestyle. That changed when he stepped on a scale on vacation in Florida and was unpleasantly surprised by his weight. "It was the heaviest I have ever been," Autrey said. Then he and Tara started working toward their goal of a healthier lifestyle. "My wife, Tara, had started making some changes already, like getting up to walk," Autrey said. The two found an app for their phones that tracked their calorie intake and exercise. "You have to make sure your calorie intake is less than the body burned at the end of the day," he said. "The app had a lot of information and foods stored in it. "There are a bunch of apps like this." The couple started focusing on portion control, eating more veggies and fruits and watching overall carbohydrate intake. "When a serving size says six ounces, we weigh it," Autrey said. He said he does have a piece of doughnut sometimes but just keeps track of it. Autrey said he tries to work out on the elliptical in their home four or five times a week and Tara walks and runs. "She inspires me on so many levels," Autrey said. "She trained for and ran a half marathon in October and will do another in April." He said the benefits of living healthier include having more energy, smaller clothes sizes and teaching their kids about healthy habits.

Winning with Wellness - earning prizes

Win with Wellness participants received test results, learning about their levels of cholesterol, sugar, body mass index and other health indicators at the Feb. 28th event in the cafeteria at Ludington High School. For two participants all of the hard work they have done with Win With Wellness turned into cash prizes. Melissa Young won $500 and Lynn Baerwolf won $1,000 for participating in screenings and attending events. Young said she decided to take part because her doctor had been bothering her to get a blood test and she didn't have the money at the time. She learned she could have free blood tests through Win with Wellness and decided to try it out. "My doctor called before I even got the results," Young said. "My triglyceride were sky-high." Young said she worked to modify her diet and take supplements, which brought the level down. She was also in the pre-diabetes stage at the time but those numbers are improving as well. "I still have to work on my weight and body mass index," Young said. About winning the $500, Young said, "It's amazing. I am shocked and pretty proud." "I am thrilled to have won the money but am very thankful to Memorial Medical Center for putting on the Win with Wellness program," Baerwolf said. "The screenings were very beneficial to me and the educational sessions were very informative. I am just sorry I was unable to attend the final session tonight. I would recommend to everyone that if the program continues that they should participate. The health benefits and information acquired are very worth the time spent." "This is very informative," said Marjorie Carlson, who was looking at her results from the screening. "These are wonderful," Carlson said. "It gives us a chance to look at where we are at and what we can do to help ourselves." She said because she is getting older, the levels have been increasing some, but knowing the information gives her more to think about. "I exercise three to four times a week, I only eat a little meat and I eat fruits and vegetables," she said. Nancy Bradshaw said she has been taking part in Win With Wellness since the beginning and the results are what are keeping her interested and coming back. "It's encouragement," Bradshaw said. Sandy Shanks had one of three medical professionals go through her results with her and was happy. "I came in November for the first time and I didn't know my blood pressure was high," said Shanks."I felt pretty good, so I was stunned when I found out." She thought the program has been very helpful and her levels are starting to be under control. "I think this is a great event," Dale Parker said. "It's great for the community." He said he is encouraged. Forty others won either a yoga mat, exercise kit or a log to keep track of daily food intake and exercise.
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