December Man of the Month: Scott E. McFarland
December 1st, 2009
This month, Disruptive Women welcomes Scott E. McFarland, Cleveland Clinic’s President of Wellness, as our Man of the Month.
Q. For the first time ever, a nation’s top hospital is focusing its medical expertise on a consumer approach to wellness that is showing promise at helping people change their lives for the better, and you are leading this disruptive healthcare strategy for the Cleveland Clinic. Why you?
A. I have a unique blend of consumer marketing, healthcare, technology and legal experience. I “get” consumers, and I “get” how an established brand can connect and extend its brand promise with new consumers without alienating its foundational constituencies. Over my career, I have consistently delivered highly-respected results and outcomes with web-based risk-indexing healthcare services and business models that empower patients and consumers by encouraging self management. Admittedly, I am more of an opportunist than a strategist, and I seem to have a “knack” for fusing innovative consumer ideas related to health and wellness with technical applications.
Q. How do you take a highly-respected science and medical brand like Cleveland Clinic and launch it into channels that reach consumers?
A. As any brand professional will tell you, launching successfully into new channels with no collateral damage to the current brand image and the present brand promise, is tricky. 360-5 from Cleveland Clinic is the endorsed brand approach we are implementing. The online manifestation of this endorsed brand is www.360-5.com. We are thrilled to extend the expertise and wellness practices of the Cleveland Clinic to a broader audience of wellness seekers online.
Q. 360-5 is a “catchy” brand. What does it mean?
A. 360 degree wellness, 365 days a year. “Total Wellness, Every Day” is our tag. Everyone smiles when they say it, which is my test for a successful tagline!
Q. What is your idea of wellness?
A. Great question. Wellness is difficult to define. It is deeply personal. Consciously or unconsciously, wellness seems to have balance and actions that help create or promote balance at its foundational core. At www.360-5.com, we strive to arm patients, caregivers, consumers and physicians with truthful, fresh, inspiring and actionable wellness solutions for everyday living. Our team, led by Cleveland Clinic Chief Wellness Officer and New York Times best-selling author, Dr. Michael F. Roizen, has brought together mind, body and food solutions into a uniquely holistic package. That means at 360-5 we’ll show you how and why you can sleep better or have more energy, among many other topics, by looking at how you handle stress, your exercise habits and diet.
Q. Interesting that the Cleveland Clinic, ranked as one of the “Best Hospitals” in America and No. 1 in the nation for heart care and surgery by U.S. News & World Report, would deploy a healthcare strategy that departs from its deep medical and surgical roots and revenue model. Can wellness thrive in an academic medical center environment where invasive procedures pay the bills and keep the lights on?
A. Well, you did want to talk about disruptive strategies! Wellness thrives at the Cleveland Clinic because it is emphasized in our culture with everyone we touch, from patients to employees. The goal of Cleveland Clinic’s wellness efforts is to minimize the physical, emotional and economic costs of illness through health and wellness services and education. Cleveland Clinic has a strong history of leadership in the Wellness sphere. As a top ranked healthcare institution, Cleveland Clinic has consistently sought to shift the national focus from providing “sick” care to promoting wellness. From designating its entire health system smoke free on July 4, 2005, to no longer hiring smokers as of Sept. 1, 2007, banning trans-fats from its menus and appointing the country’s first Chief Wellness Officer, Cleveland Clinic is dedicated to creating a healthier environment for its employees, patients and community.
The Cleveland Clinic provides integrated medical care to patients in the United States, Canada and around the world, and continues to be on the cutting edge of on-going innovative approaches to collaborative patient care, technology, and overall medical, health and wellness advances. The Cleveland Clinic’s mission is to provide compassionate healthcare of the highest quality in a setting of education and research. The Cleveland Clinic is dedicated to making preventive care the driving force in medicine and providing clinical validation of the efficacy of health and wellness programs and products. So YES, wellness can thrive in an academic medical center/hospital environment.
Q. Tell us more about this mind, body, food approach that you are taking. What does it mean, and how is it different?
A. Have more energy. Live a happier life. Love what you eat. Those three statements concisely sum up what it means. www.360-5.com engages you in truthful, fresh and inspiring experiences. Our unique “mind, body, food” connection targets all aspects of your health, with actionable advice that’s medically-backed and easy to follow. That is how it is different.
Q. What do you think it takes to get someone started on the path to taking better care of him or herself?
A. When it comes to health and wellness, I believe small steps can lead to big results. We know it takes work to be healthy, so we make the information on www.360-5.com as easy (and — gasp — as fun) as possible. At 360-5, we make the science accessible (sometimes even helping you see the humor in how the body works!), giving you a deeper understanding of the complex and often mysterious nature of your mind and body.
We’ll show you how mind, body and food work together to help you feel better and fight or even reverse disease. Even better, we’ll offer you small steps in every article (look for the Try This) to help you achieve your larger wellness goals. Once you start living a healthier life, we think you’ll see how addicting it can be. And that kind of addiction . . . we’re all for it!
Related posts:
Leave a Reply