Bill Clinton opens health conference in Indian Wells

Rich Linton
InstantRiverside.com

President Bill Clinton kicked off the inaugural conference “Health Matters: Activating Wellness in Every Generation” on Tuesday, January 17 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells.

The Clinton Foundation event brought together more than 200 industry leaders from health care, public policy, business, education and sports to identify strategies to promote and improve the health lifestyles of individuals and communities.

Among them were Goldie Hawn, Billie Jean King, Bob Lanier, Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Nancy Snyderman of NBC News.

Prior to opening the conference, television’s toughest trainer and star of “The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels (pictured left), led more than 75 attendees in a morning workout on the resort’s east lawn.

In opening the conference, the venerable statesman and former President strongly suggested that health care today is an economic issue tied to the rising costs of insurance premiums. “One of the reasons workers will never get a raise is because their employers are consistently paying higher health care premiums each year,” Clinton said.

According to the Clinton Foundation, one of the challenges to be presented at the conference is to task corporations to make commitments to help others lead healthier lives.

A healthier individual leading to a healthier economy was a theme belying the separate discussions slated throughout the day.

A notable panel discussion, “Raise the Bar on Healthy Schools” was scheduled to be moderated by Chelsea Clinton, daughter of the former President. Chelsea Clinton is also a new contributor to the NBC News division.

The conference was carefully timed to immediately precede the Humana Challenge PGA TOUR, formerly the Bob Hope Classic, which plays through January 22.

Photos by Rich Linton

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