Dr. Adewale Troutman: Changing the Shape of Louisville through Holistic Health and Wellness

Louisville is on track to shed unwanted pounds and become a fitter community, but not solely because of New Year's resolutions. Dr. Adewale Troutman, director of the Louisville Metro Health Department, has an insightful, yet seemingly simple, message about good, accessible health for Metro residents:

"Health is a right."

With an intrinsically deep-seated passion for public health, Troutman believes good health policy involves treating the whole person rather than a symptom. A focus on proper diet, exercise and preventive medicine is equally important - something he maintains should be within reach for every member of the community.

"[I want] this to be the best health department in the U.S. and the healthiest city in the country, whose focus is on wellness and holistic definitions of health, meaning a harmonious balance of mind, body and spirit. This should be a community where activity, optimal nutrition and an overall sense of health and wellness is the norm," Troutman says.

He also emphasizes his goal for Louisville to be "a community where there is health equity and an overwhelming sense of justice - health equity in reference to [the idea] that there would be no health disparities."

The 58-year-old New York City native is married with a blended family of four children and brings to the table an extensive background in public health administration. He holds a B.S. in physical education from New York's Lehman College, an M.A. in black studies from State University of New York, a master's of public health from Columbia University School of Public Health and an M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He recently served as the director of the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness in Atlanta and also worked with Dr. David Satcher, the former U.S. Surgeon General, at Morehouse School of Medicine at the National Center for Primary Care while serving as Senior Scientist in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine. The focus was on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities.

Attracted to Louisville because of both its merged government and the Metro Government's partnership with University of Louisville's School of Public Health, Troutman not only directs the Health Department, but is also an associate professor for the School of Public Health, a unique relationship he terms "a blend of academic and front-line public health work."

MOVING TOWARD A HEALTHIER LOUISVILLE

In the relatively short span of a little over a year, Troutman has collaborated with Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson to develop the mayor's vision for a healthier Louisville into an everyday reality. One such plan includes the Mayor's Healthy Hometown Movement.

Troutman explains, "We had a lot of discussion about what we were going to call this [the Mayor's Healthy Hometown Movement]. My position was that this could not be a program or an initiative-it had to be a movement because what we have to do is find a way to create this culture that is a positive counter to the negative culture of fast food-ism, convenience and a lack of physical activity that has led us to where we are as a state: one of the fattest in the country."

The movement is an umbrella for the promotion of good health, nutrition, physical fitness and increased physical activity for the community. According to Troutman, an advisory council representing community partners involved in healthy living became the coordinating body for the movement, which, as an umbrella, is designed as a place where all other activities can align without being in competition.

Some ways in which the word will get out to the community is through social marketing, like public service announcements, and a worksite wellness initiative known as the Take Charge Challenge, which encourages people in the workplace to increase their physical activity. Other components are an involvement with educational institutions, a mini-grant program designed to initiate physical activity programs at the local level for small, community-based organizations and an involvement with the faith community.

On the Health Department's Web site, http://health.loukymetro.org, there is a calendar of physical activity events that fall under the movement's umbrella. Troutman says, "We're encouraging everyone who is organizing a run, bike event, basketball event, etc., to be a part of the Mayor's Healthy Hometown Movement."

Metro Parks, says Troutman, is also being marketed through the project as "the largest health club in the city with no fees and the opportunity for a huge amount of green space."

DOING MORE

Other elements, according to Troutman, include a focus on healthy public policy that, developed with the mayor's office, will create an environment that supports people being healthy, such as sidewalks, protected bike paths and walking trails. "The mayor talks a lot about the walkway across the bridge and connecting bike paths along the river so that you have routes [along either side]. He's talked about connecting with Oldham County, too. They have a grant called Rails to Trails, which is designed to take old, abandoned railroad tracks and renovate them into walking paths and bike trails." Rails to Trails, a popular national program, would create many more miles of walking and cycling trails.

Troutman is quick to attribute credit for the movement to Mayor Abramson and other people involved in its inception. He explains that in the movement's beginning, the mayor "had been getting encouragement from many sources in the community to launch some kind of city-wide initiative.Different people have been trying to do something [along these lines] for a long time, so it isn't my child, per se. I brought my own ideas and sense of direction and public health expertise to do what we have accomplished, but the process, and the encouragement to have a process, had been there [through the help of] people like Dr. David Allen, Dr. Lou Heuser and others.I did develop the plan and the philosophical basis for what we should do and that was shared with the mayor. He readily agreed with the direction that I wanted to take this."

Troutman adds, "The mayor is the biggest cheerleader for improving the overall health of the city through a movement like this."

While in Atlanta, one of the methods in which Troutman championed his belief in good public health was by reorganizing and renaming the Health Department to the Department of Health and Wellness. "The specific emphasis [was] on showing everybody that health is a holistic entity, that it's all about wellness and establishing a paradigm of wellness as the primary focus of the Health Department, rather than just reacting and treating illnesses."

Troutman has also reorganized the Louisville Metro Health Department and brought about a new addition to the Health Department: the Office of Faith and Health, which will facilitate the outreach to Louisville's faith communities to promote better health in the congregations. Other ways Troutman says the Department has increased its presence is through its own television show, "Health Matters," and also through Troutman's numerous community speaking engagements.

He says, "I've gotten at least two dozen comments directly to me from people in the community who have said that [they have] never had this kind of access to the Health Department before. It's opening a two-way dialogue with the community."

PRACTICING WHAT HE TEACHES

Troutman also lives his philosophy. A self-described "gym rat," Troutman says "in a good week, I get to the gym six times. Five days a week, I'm doing 50-55 minutes on the treadmill and then I do machines and some stretching. On the sixth day, I get to the pool. Recently I've started working with a trainer at the YMCA to help refine my workout. Since my time is limited, I try to get the most efficiency out of my workout as I can."

Troutman's wife, Denise, who works for the YMCA with her daughter, is also a proponent of physical fitness. She and Troutman work out together whenever they can and are most likely to do so on the weekend.

"I am a physician and a public health official," Troutman says. "I have read numerous studies about the positive effects of physical activity-you feel better, you look better, you're better able to manage your weight and you improve your cardiovascular health. Leading a physically active lifestyle is an immensely important aspect of staying healthy, and of wellness."

Whether this involves taking a stroll through one of Louisville's Metro Parks, choosing a salad over an order of onion rings, or gaining access to better health through a neighborhood program, Troutman stands by, ready to help Metro residents achieve optimal wellness.

Margaret Schauer, a swimmer and aspiring triathlete, is currently completing her master of fine arts in writing degree at Spalding University.