Health consultant Susanne Hindmarsh says one of the corporate clients she recently consulted with was alarmed to learn her cholesterol and blood pressure was up. But the dividends of the consultation, says Hindmarsh, soon became obvious. Hindmarsh advised the client about how to better her health and wellbeing, and it resulted in the woman showing improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and waist measurements in just a few more consultations.
"We were able to specifically address areas that she could fine tune to continue to improve her health," says Hindmarsh. "This was a positive outcome as the health behaviour changes were sustained.... "I like to be able to help people take a step out of their life and look at it to see how it is affecting their health behaviours."
Hindmarsh is a health consultant with corporate health and wellbeing specialists Ford Health. She works alongside doctors to provide predominantly corporate clients with tailored feedback and advice concerning their health and wellbeing. She conducts one-on-one health consultations, performs onsite workplace health assessments and presents talks about the health issues (everything from ergonomics to work-life balance to heart health) that affect individual workplaces.
"I'm passionate about preventative medicine and healthcare, so I was interested in working for a company that had that same kind of goal," says Hindmarsh.
Ford Health has been prominent in the area of corporate health for two decades, working with clients from the construction industry, government departments and professional service firms.
Hindmarsh joined Ford Health a few months ago. Her main qualifications include a bachelor of applied science (human movement) from the University of Queensland and further higher education studies in cardiovascular health and disease prevention, through London's Imperial College. Previously, she has been employed as a cardiac program co-ordinator for Nu-life Medical Service in Queensland and as part of the multi-disciplinary team offering health assessments at the Preventive Medicine Centre in London.
Hindmarsh says one of her main focuses in the next year is to develop her experience and familiarity with the diverse range of workplace health services her company provides. She's working to advance her career in a corporate wellness industry that has recorded positive revenue growth in the past decade, according to figures from industry-based research providers IBISWorld.
"I would like to expand what I'm doing in the company," Hindmarsh sdays. "That might mean going out more on site and doing education talks and presentations, just to keep growing professionally."
