Power of large institutions and community partnerships in shaping healthy lifestyles: Early lessons for the civilian sector from the military's healthy base initiative

Large organizations hold tremendous potential to change the lives of the millions of Americans. The U.S. Department of Defense is one institution that has recognized the problem of obesity and chronic disease for its service members, civilians, military families, and retirees who spend time on bases and receive health care through TRICARE. Rising health care costs and incredibly unfit pools of recruits are two main problems within DoD. Facing threats to military recruitment, retention, readiness, and rising TRICARE health care costs, the Department of Defense embraced an opportunity to deploy a comprehensive program to improve lifestyles on military bases. This summer, DoD began a Healthy Bases Initiative pilot on 9 military bases to overhaul the base environment—including offering healthier options in dining and retail facilities, upgrading the built environment to promote active living, and increasing health education on a range of topics from smoking cessation to breastfeeding. This initiative incorporates partnerships with other private sector and community groups. Though the program is in its initial stages, there are many lessons from the planning and implementation of this large-scale pilot which will ultimately be expanded across military bases worldwide. Early outcomes from pilot bases will be shared. The Healthy Bases Initiative pilot holds valuable lessons for any large institution looking to design and implement comprehensive prevention and wellness programs. Key success factors and initial insights will help other entities identify effective prevention and wellness strategies and more quickly adopt similar policies and programs.