VOL. 08 | ISSUE 4 | Winter 2025 / 2026
Doc Talk:
Adding Improved Health
to Your 2026 Goals
This article is part of a regular feature for The Miner called Doc Talk, in which Dr. Richard Vinroot, Vice President and Global Medical Director, addresses topics related to the health and wellness of Freeport employees.
With the end of one year and the impending start of the next often comes a bit of self-reflection.
The changing of the calendar can bring a recalibration of career goals or an assessment of relationships – all for the purpose of setting goals to help ensure long-term professional and personal success.
Most common are goals related to health and fitness. A Pew Research Center survey found that 30 percent of Americans made at least one New Year’s resolution in 2024, and among those, 79 percent focused on health, exercise and diet.
In this Doc Talk, Dr. Richard Vinroot, Vice President and Global Medical Director, discusses the importance of setting health-related goals for the year ahead and offers some commonsense advice on how to stick with those objectives.
The beginning of a new year tends to be when a lot of people establish New Year’s resolutions and set goals for work and other areas of their lives. How should people look at establishing goals as it relates to their health and wellness.
With the turn of the year coming, if you haven’t been as healthy as you want to be, it might be time to start thinking about that. Beyond just starting something as a New Year’s resolution, setting health and wellness goals can be the start to a new chapter in your life. It’s a good time to start thinking about what you want to do better next year and sort of take stock in what you’ve done this year, whether it be some weight that you’ve gained, not exercising as much, getting better sleep or trying to stop bad habits like tobacco use.
Setting health goals often is the easy part – it’s the follow-through that trips most people up. What advice do you have for those looking to stick with their health goals?
There are a lot of things that can cause you to break from your goals. You’ve got TVs and computers, which might keep you from exercising. Family issues may lead to difficulty with getting enough exercise. Sometimes, others simply aren’t supportive. Sharing your goals with other people is a really effective way to keep yourself accountable. If somebody else is doing it with you, it can make it a lot easier to have some support. Also, you can consider partnering with a doctor or caregiver who specializes in tobacco abstinence, or a sleep or wellness coach. There are also doctors who focus on weight loss and healthy eating. The main point is having a support system in place to help you stay on track.
Most people have a general sense of where they could improve their health. How can an annual checkup at the start of the year help turn awareness into action?
The beginning of the year is a great time to get a checkup because a doctor can provide you with your body mass index, your blood pressure or your diabetes status. That information is critical if you plan on focusing on your health. We’ve had a lot of employees at this company who lost a lot of weight because a medical physical found something concerning enough that changes needed to be made. So, it can be really helpful to do your yearly physical at the end of the year or the beginning of the next year, so you can start correcting what you’ve done from the previous year.
It’s clear that taking steps to improve your health can boost overall quality of life. But how does physical health impact a person’s ability to perform at a high level in their job?
As we age and advance in our careers, many activities naturally become more challenging. With respect to our sites, there are many tasks that require a lot more strength, agility and balance. And there is the risk of getting hurt if you are not healthy and not performing the work properly. The corporate setting is extremely different in that you don’t have the same physical requirements as those who work at the sites. But people who work in that environment also can be at risk because they’re not doing as strenuous of a job physically, and they may not be accustomed to moving around as much.
“The beginning of the year is a great time to get a checkup because a doctor can provide you with your body mass index, your blood pressure or your diabetes status. That information is critical if you plan on focusing on your health.”
DR. RICHARD VINROOT | VICE PRESIDENT AND GLOBAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Beyond finding an accountability partner and scheduling an annual physical to assess their health, what else can employees do to jump-start their fitness and health goals?
Freeport offers its employees a lot of support, and everyone should look into all the available resources. For those who take advantage of the healthcare plans offered by the company, there are a number of preventive resources available. Also, the company provides up to $500 annually to employees that can be allocated to wellness. That money can be used to purchase exercise equipment or join a gym. The key is to be proactive in identifying all the resources available to support you in achieving those goals and start acting on them today.
Setting SMART Goals
for Better Health
SPECIFIC: Define exactly what you want to achieve.
MEASURABLE: Track progress with clear metrics.
ATTAINABLE: Choose realistic goals.
RELEVANT: Align with your personal values.
TIME-BOUND: Set deadlines to stay focused.
Source: Mayo Clinic Health System