Institute for Healthcare Improvement: WIHI

Up Next on WIHI

Tipping the Scales: Fresh Ideas to Combat Obesity

Thursday, February 18, 2010

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time

Featuring:

David Kessler, MD, FDA Commissioner (1990-1997), Professor, UCSF School of Medicine

Charles J. Homer, MD, MPH, President and CEO, National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality

Rachelle Mirkin, Executive Program Director, National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality

Learn more about the speakers

Hardly a day goes by anymore, it seems, that doesn’t include new research findings about obesity and its health consequences. At the same time, headlines heralding the latest tactics to help Americans, especially, shed the excess pounds often compete for space with some of the most sophisticated advertising ever to lead us to precisely the foods wreaking havoc with our bodies and brains. The former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler, identifies with those of us gaining and losing weight, like the seasons, and our seemingly insatiable desires for foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. That’s why he wrote the book, The End of Overeating, and he’s hoping his investigation adds to the understanding of the levers needed to turn the obesity epidemic around.

WIHI is pleased to welcome Dr. Kessler to the program, along with two national leaders – Charles Homer and Rachelle Mirkin - who are helping to provide communities and health care providers with known best practices to combat obesity in children. If ever there was a frontline for effective strategies, it is with kids who are otherwise on track for a lifetime of chronic and serious illness. Forty billion dollars in increased medical spending in the U.S. because of obesity, according to one recent analysis, gets our attention. But, if you’re wondering what’s working, where, to reverse this spiral, join WIHI host Madge Kaplan and her guests for a lively and urgent discussion about obesity and what experts are learning about best ways to focus interventions and efforts. WIHI also invites improvers from anywhere in the world to the conversation; obesity is now a global issue and everyone’s knowledge is needed.

There is no fee for participating in a WIHI program, but enrollment is required.

Welcome to WIHI

How to Join

WIHI is an exciting new "talk show" program from IHI, connecting you to the cutting edge of health care improvement. It’s free, it’s timely, and it’s designed to help dedicated legions of health care improvers worldwide keep up with some of the freshest and most robust thinking and strategies for improving patient care.

Every other week, IHI will bring you a 60-minute show free of charge, that will help health care improvers worldwide stay on top of the latest thinking and strategies for improving patient care. You can tune in “live” through your computer or telephone, or listen to recordings of the broadcast later at your convenience. Your host, IHI’s Madge Kaplan, has years of experience as a health care reporter for public radio, but may be best known as “the voice” of the 100,000 Lives and 5 Million Lives Campaign conference calls. Please join us!

WIHI programs use WebEx technology. There are three ways to join:

Via computer alone. You can access the audio through your computer speakers or headphones and can submit comments or questions via the chat function in WebEx.
Via telephone alone. You can participate in the audio aspects of the program, but will not have access to chat functions.
Via computer AND telephone. You can participate in the audio aspects of the program and the chat functions as well.