an interview with the Wellness General

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

As President-Elect Bush works to form a cabinet and to fill other top government posts, word has come from a well-placed source that a new Cabinet-level position is going to be announced any day now that will be devoted to the promotion of self-management concepts. While I was not a supporter of the Texas governor, I must confess that this bold move in itself is likely to convert me into a big fan of our new president-to-be.

I was unable to confirm this story with official spokespersons with the President-elect, but I did manage to obtain an exclusive interview with Dr. David Haber of the Texas Medical School at Galveston. Dr. Haber is widely regarded as the mastermind behind the idea promoting the creation of a new office of U.S. Wellness General. I asked Dr. Haber to describe the concept for SeekWellness.com. The following is off-the-record but reliable.

(part 1 of a two-part interview)

Don: Dr. Haber, would you tell the visitors to SeekWellness.com about the nature, justification for, and duties of the US Wellness General, and note please if the first appointee will have the same rank and prominence as traditionally assigned to the US Surgeon General?

Dr. Haber: Yes, Don, he or she will have the same rank, but a bit more prominence than the past US Surgeons General because that role will no longer exist -- it will become the US Wellness General!

Don: Wow. What is behind this bold move?

Dr. Haber: Well, if you have been paying attention, you know that the people of this great country are getting fatter, perhaps they are sitting in front of their computers a bit too much -- and their lifestyles are deplorable, for the most part. The new president is going to make wellness a big priority.

Don: Dr. Haber, do I understand that the appointment of a US Wellness General will signal to the nation that this new position of prominence for wellness promotion raises it to a national priority?

Dr. Haber: Yes. In fact, more than any other position in the federal government, this office lends itself to use as the bully pulpit for citizen excellence, high performance and optimal functioning. The new leader will go about exhorting policymakers, community leaders and citizens to improved health and better living via self-managed, artful lifestyles. Dr. C. Everett Koop used the post of Surgeon General as a bully pulpit, but only for smoking cessation and condom use. The new Wellness General will focus on the wellness lifestyle in all of its glorious manifestations. The anonymity of the current surgeon general (face it, can you name him?) will be transferred to another general. The new Wellness General will address broader lifestyle issues and do so exclusively, freed of medical duties, which will be reassigned to other departments of government.

Don: Will legislation be required?

Dr. Haber: No, but the new president will have to assign significant new resources and responsibilities to this position. The resources can be generated through a junk food tax, though not everyone involved in discussions about this in the Bush inner circle supports such a proposition and, of course, it will have to be approached in a bi-partisan way. The responsibilities of the Wellness General will include expanding and consolidating wellness research, evaluation of wellness interventions for inclusion into health insurance plans, monitoring of wellness in health insurance plans, and developing links between insured services at medical clinics and community health programs. Of course there will be much more underway designed to promote wellness but these targets I just mentioned are to be the initial focus.

Don: Dr. Haber, as you know, the term “wellness” means different things to different people. How does Mr. Bush plan to interpret the term for purposes of a US Wellness General?

Dr. Haber: I agree that while the term wellness has had many supporters in the health professions over the past 25 years, too often it has been focused on disease prevention. In my view, and I believe the governor’s as well, your own definition, Don, is the most cogent that we know of and thus the one that will guide us! That is, wellness will be described as a perspective about optimal health and life satisfaction that includes physical elements (exercise and nutrition), psychological aspects (stress management and emotional intelligence), social and intellectual elements (connectedness to significant others and passionate ideas) and spiritual components (seeking meaning and purpose in life). I know you don’t like the term “spiritual” but the governor does.

Don: Dr. Haber, I must tell you that I’m amazed and flattered to hear about this. My grandmother insisted I’d never amount to anything. Do you think this counts for something? Can I, at last, conclude that she was wrong, not to mention mean and jejune and that I turned out OK, after all?

Dr. Haber: No.

Don: That's disappointing.

Dr. Haber: Sorry, Don, we won’t be focusing in on self-esteem until the governor's second term in office.

On to the second part of the interview