WAUNAKEE, Wis. – More than 30% of Wisconsinites are obese, per the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Even though the best way to fix that problem is through dieting and exercise, many doctors and pharmacists don’t always prescribe that.
Sean Casey is a dietitian working for Hometown Pharmacy. He is working to change the structure of the U.S. health system one community at a time.
“What are the first questions they ask you when you go into your traditional health care practitioner for an appointment,” said Casey.
Casey asked this question to a small group of personal trainers during a presentation on health and wellness.
“What medications are you on?” one employee quickly shouted out.
That was exactly the answer Casey was looking for.
“What is your height, your weight, what’s your blood pressure,” said Casey. “In Hong Kong they ask something completely different from that.”
Casey spent some time working in China. What he noticed is that doctors there focus more on physical and mental health, and less on pills.
“What we have seen is no one gets excited about waking up feeling crummy with 12 pills to take by noon,” said Casey.
According to a study by Georgetown University, 66% of all adults in the U.S. take prescription drugs. Americans are buying more medicine per person than any other country, but Casey is trying to change that.
“We focus on four pillars of health: food, movement, sleep and stress management,” said Casey.
Casey does outreach work for Hometown Pharmacy throughout the state of Wisconsin with the goal of getting gyms, church groups and schools to all be on the same page.
“We want to work with every group within a single community,” Casey said. “That way, we are all beating the same drumbeat.”
Casey is not the only one concerned with the country’s reliance on medications.
Heather Walker is the head pharmacist at one of the Waunakee-based Hometown Pharmacy locations. She said she is tired of not seeing people get better.
“I rarely have somebody who is diagnosed with high blood pressure, and they get this wake-up call and say, ‘I am going to make some changes in my lifestyle and hey look I got off blood pressure medication,’” said Walker.
Walker said the goal is to make the Waunakee area healthier by drastically reducing medications and instead offering alternatives.
“We’re really trying to get to the root cause,” said Walker. “A lot of our chronic diseases are due to not eating properly, not getting enough exercise.”
Statistics show that the older Americans get, the more medications they take.
While Walker and Casey are trying to change that narrative, they said it will take an entire community and a lot of work to reshape how Americans look at health care.