The National Insurance Board's Get Well Bahamas Challenge (GWB) is gaining support from the corporate community as yet another company has partnered with NIB to fight obesity and related chronic conditions in The Bahamas.  Generali Worldwide Insurance Company recently donated a check for almost $4,000 to secure tee-shirts and pedometers for Get Well Bahamas Phase 2 which is set to benefit another 40 Bahamians beginning July 25.
Alana Ingraham, business development manager of Generali Worldwide said NIB should be commended for the visionary program that provides 12 weeks of wellness coaching and personal fitness training to its participants.

"We are very excited to be able to contribute to Get Well Bahamas and The National Insurance Board. This initiative is certainly one that requires applause for the visionaries because it allows Bahamian people in general to understand the importance of living well and living healthily.  At Generali we believe it's very important to eat the right foods and to exercise regularly and so we support the initiative that Get Well Bahamas has put forth," Ingraham said.

On hand for the check presentation, Phaedra Mackey, vice-president of investments NIB, said the long term objective of Get Well Bahamas is to decrease the need for and expense of prescription drugs that result from a high incidence of chronic diseases in the population.
"NIB was excited about the results from our Phase I of the Get Well Bahamas Program. We've seen participants who have been able to reduce their reliance on medication and come off of certain medications for their chronic diseases.  We want to continue the program with our partners like Generali to ensure that every Bahamian has an opportunity to improve their health going forward," Mackey said.

As with Phase I, the second phase of Get Well Bahamas will be implemented by health and fitness professionals Jemi Health and Wellness and Body Zone Fitness.  Jan Martin-Isaacs, president of Jemi Health and Wellness said a number of changes have been made to the program to make it even more effective this time around.  For example, some new features will include more classroom-style testing and visits by health coaches to participants' homes.
"We're going to search their cupboards and refrigerators.  We're going to sit with their families.  If we get the families on board initially and maintain our education not only with the participant but also with the family members, we will obtain even better results," Martin-Isaacs said.

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