The Healthy Behavior Optimization for Michigan (HBOM) team is proud to launch Heal Better, Feel Better, a statewide initiative focused on helping patients heal and thrive after surgery.
This effort builds on a simple truth: every patient deserves to recover with confidence, dignity, and hope. Yet, many lack the tools they need to make that possible. Heal Better, Feel Better fills this gap by empowering patients with easy-to-use, customizable tools that promote wellness before and after surgery.
What Is Heal Better, Feel Better?
Led by HBOM and developed in collaboration with four Michigan Collaborative Quality Initiatives (CQIs), Heal Better, Feel Better supports patient-initiated recovery planning through practical resources that complement Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) models, prevent hospital readmissions after surgery, and inspire long-term wellness.
The initiative covers key areas of perioperative health:
- Nutrition
- Movement
- Sleep
- Tobacco cessation and substance use
- Joy and purpose
- Social connection and support
“This initiative fills a gap many clinicians and patients have long recognized—resources that help patients plan and prioritize their own healing.”
— Tammy Chang, MD, MPH, MS, Director of HBOM
First Tool: A Simple, Reflective Recovery Handout
The first resource in this initiative is a brief, self-guided handout that helps patients plan their recovery journey before surgery. Set to pilot at two southeast Michigan sites through the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC), the tool was co-designed with ProMedica Clinical Quality Specialists Susanna Fortney, BSN, RN and Laura Cousino, MSN, RN.
“After surgery, we tend to think about surgical wound care, what we need to avoid, and how to keep pain in check,” Susanna notes. “But there’s so much more that contributes to the healing journey after surgery and beyond! This initiative highlights these healthy behaviors, provides helpful tips, and valuable resources.”
Laura adds, “The Heal Better resource works like a journaling prompt!” “It gets patients thinking through support systems, nutrition, routines—even barriers to sleep or movement. It’s individualized, and that’s what makes it powerful.”
Building on Proven Success
Since 2022, HBOM has collaborated with quality initiatives across Michigan to advance healthy behavior change. Highlights include:
- Tobacco Cessation
Tools developed by HBOM have reached over 100,000 users in 141 countries, supporting cessation efforts in oncology, surgery, cardiology, and beyond. - Healthy Eating Jumpstart
In partnership with the Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes (MCT2D) and Shipt, HBOM launched a program supporting lower-carbohydrate eating for diabetes management—complete with recipes, planning tools, and educational media. - Comfort Cuisine & NewBeat
Working with the Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium (MOQC) and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2) and the Michigan Cardiac Rehab Network (MiCR), HBOM co-developed programs supporting nutrition during cancer treatment and cardiac rehabilitation referral and enrollment after cardiac procedures.
What’s Next: A Home for Healing
Launching soon, the Heal Better, Feel Better patient-friendly website will serve as a hub for recovery planning and education, featuring:
- Interactive wellness tools
- Patient-centered guidance across key recovery wellness domains
- Stories, videos, and resources that center joy, meaning, and self-efficacy
“Your team gives us energy! Sharing resources that help to serve our patients, this is very exciting for us—to work with a Michigan-based collaborative that can serve the entire state. What a great team.”
— Laura Cousino, MSN, RN, ProMedica
Join Us in This Work
We’re grateful to our early partners—the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC), the Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MSSIC), MOQC, and BMC2—for co-creating this program with us. We’re just getting started.
Health systems interested in piloting Heal Better, Feel Better or accessing resources can contact us at info[at] hbomich.org.
Together, we can help every patient heal better and feel better.