Making healthy behaviors stick: Why coaching is core to advanced primary care

October 24th, 2025 | 7 min. read

What does it really take to make healthy behaviors stick? How do we help individuals achieve durable and lasting behavior changes to promote health?

In this webinar, healthcare and benefits leaders discuss how health coaching empowers people to turn knowledge into lasting change. Dr. Nirav Vakharia, Marathon Health’s chief operating officer and practicing physician along with Krista Beckwith, vice president, population health and wellness, are joined by guest client speaker Amanda Gebert, director of benefits at Sargento Foods—a partner since 2018, known for strategies that drive true ROI and health outcomes.

In the U.S., we continue to see increasing rates of chronic disease—an alarming 40% of cancer-related deaths are potentially preventable, and while mortality rates from heart disease and stroke have declined, prevalence has continued to climb. When negative health outcomes are primarily determined by factors outside of the exam room, what can we do?

The solution is multi-fold. We need to:

Meet populations where they are, with easy and convenient access to high-quality, affordable care.
Build continuous relationships and trust amongst patients and providers.
Help patients maintain lasting health change before, in-between, and after healthcare visits.

Advanced primary care, built around these core principles, unlocks successful outcomes for population health.

Dr. Vakharia opened our discussion with similar sentiments, “If we can move patients up the ladder of self-efficacy, they have better outcomes and spend less over time. Behavior change is a giant untapped opportunity. We need to swim upstream and affect behaviors.”

Through an advanced primary care model, we use clinical interactions to increase members' ability to manage their own health. More time is spent with patients—for example, a high-risk patient may see their provider six times per year, and a typical visit could be up to 40 minutes—so clinicians have the space to understand patients in their whole context. Further, they’re given the tools to coach and counsel patients toward implementing healthy behaviors.

Real-world example: Sargento Foods Inc.

Sargento, a food producer with over 5,000 eligible lives, has partnered with Marathon to drive lasting change for its workforce and their families. At Sargento, 85% of employees and 63% of spouses engage with Marathon services. More importantly, members most in need are getting care: 94% of employees and 83% of spouses at high health risk are engaged. Member satisfaction is a whopping 99.6%. These metrics together drive cost savings and biometric health improvements.

“Our providers are long-tenured and trusted,” said Gebert. “We’ve seen that behavior change improves overall well-being, satisfaction, and presenteeism.”

With a focus on reducing chronic condition prevalence and spend, boosting dependent engagement, and creating a seamless healthcare experience, Sargento has gone all-in on incorporating health coaching into their advanced primary care model. With four locations, all rural, and expansion into a fifth one later this year, they are truly meeting members where they are.

To create a healthcare home, Marathon and Sargento go beyond health coaching to integrate a broad range of services—nutrition support, occupational health, physical therapy, and mental health—with advanced primary care. When healthcare is limited in rural areas, convenience and fast access drives care engagement. Each location has a nurse practitioner and medical assistant supported by an interdisciplinary team. Employees can visit any location, and providers are part of the community and Sargento team.

“We share similar challenges and values. We walk alongside our patients in the clinic and our community. We spend time with our patients and get to know them on a personal level.” – Katie Henning, Marathon health coach at Sargento health center

Marek’s Story

Marek was facing health challenges: rising A1C, high cholesterol, and 70 extra pounds. He knew he needed to make changes but was overwhelmed and unsure where to begin. Marek turned to the Sargento health center. He credits his Marathon health coach Katie for tools, encouragement, and accountability. She helped him set realistic goals and guided him through challenges. Just knowing she was checking in made a difference. Today, he’s lost the 70 pounds, normalized his labs, and cycles 5,000 miles a year.

He self-reported, “I never thought I would be able to ride 100 miles in a day, but now I look forward to it. As I reflect on my progress, one thing stands out: the power of support combined with determination. Beyond the numbers, I feel energetic, strong, and capable.”

Marek’s story is one of many.

What’s different: creating sustainable and lasting change

Integration amongst the care team is critical for lasting health and wellness. To embed a coaching mindset across disciplines, Marathon is a certified training program for the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches and registered dietitians and certified health coaches are treated as clinical members of the care team—because lifestyle management is foundational to health.

Sustainable health change is possible—and at Marathon, we believe it starts with care that sees the whole person.

Watch on demand

Access this 45-minute, expert-led, on-demand conversation exploring how organizations are pairing advanced primary care with personalized health coaching to help employees make lasting lifestyle changes—such as managing chronic conditions, maintaining weight health, and staying engaged in their well-being.

As the industry navigates shifts related to weight loss medications, hear from leaders who have long deployed lifestyle management programs that deliver measurable impact across health outcomes, costs, and workforce satisfaction.

Whether you’re focused on ROI, pharmacy costs, chronic conditions, or employee experience—this session will give you a fresh perspective on how coaching can power transformation inside and outside the exam room.

Watch on-demand to learn:

Why behavior change so often fails—and how integrated advanced primary care and coaching changes the equation
How to integrate clinical interventions with lifestyle management strategies to sustain results
Real-world outcomes—like how Sargento engaged 85% of employees and lowered costs by 17%

Learn more here: https://hubs.la/Q03Fd9tk0

Transcript

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Good day, everyone. I'm Dr. Nirav Vakharia. I'm a primary care physician, and I also have the privilege of serving as our Chief Operating Officer here at Marathon Health. I, along with my illustrious friends and colleagues, look forward to covering a really interesting topic that we hear over and over is on the minds of our clients: how do we help our patients and members achieve durable and lasting behavior changes to promote health? Everyone is groaning under the weight of increased chronic disease prevalence and its implications. We're excited to not just talk about chronic disease, but to hone in on the opportunity to swim upstream and affect behaviors. We'll make some opening comments to set the stage for why behavior change is a giant untapped opportunity. We'll show how the advanced primary care model is a key lever to help you achieve success in your populations. We have the great benefit of having guest speaker Amanda Gebert from Sargento Foods. They have a wonderful story of incorporating behavior change and health coaching into their advanced primary care model. We'll do a deep dive into that, including individual patient stories and program-level insights. Then we'll have a panel discussion and save time for questions. Please use the Q&A feature in Zoom to submit questions throughout the webinar. We'll wrap up with materials including slides, the recording, and resources on health coaching and behavior change.

Amanda Gebert: Hi everyone, I'm Amanda Gebert, Director of Benefits at Sargento Foods. I've worked with Marathon for the past four years, and it's been a great, growing relationship. Sargento has been with Marathon since 2018. At this year's Engage client conference, Sargento was awarded the Robert Symes Population Health Award for the greatest increase in overall population health metrics. We'll get into more of that today.

Krista Beckwith: Hi, good morning and afternoon, everyone. I'm Krista Beckwith, Vice President for Population Health and Wellness at Marathon. I sit at the intersection of client strategy, product innovation, and clinical operations. I’m thrilled to be here and join Amanda in this discussion.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Thanks to you both. As a primary care physician for 20 years, I've seen increasing rates of chronic disease risk factors. 90% of healthcare spending in the US is traced back to something modifiable. 40% of deaths are potentially preventable. While death rates from heart disease and stroke have gone down, the rates of those diseases are going up. We need to swim upstream. Health outcomes are primarily determined by factors outside the exam room. At Marathon, we use clinical interactions to increase members' ability to manage their own health. We have more time with patients—up to 40 minutes, and 6 visits a year for high-risk patients. We use that time for coaching and counseling. If we can move patients up the ladder of self-efficacy, they have better outcomes and spend less over time. Let’s dig into the Sargento case study.

Amanda Gebert: Thanks, Dr. Nirav Vakharia. Let me share Marek’s story—one of our employees. He was facing health challenges: rising A1C, high cholesterol, and 70 extra pounds. He turned to our Health and Wellness Center. Today, he’s lost the weight, normalized his labs, and cycles 5,000 miles a year. He credits our health coach Katie for tools, encouragement, and accountability. She helped him set realistic goals and guided him through challenges. Just knowing she was checking in made a difference. He said, “I never thought I would be able to ride 100 miles in a day, but now I look forward to it.” Marek’s story is one of many. We also shared Holly’s story at our Engage platform last year.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Amazing story. Let’s zoom out. Amanda, tell us more about Sargento’s population and what you were solving for.

Amanda Gebert: We’re a manufacturing organization with about 2,500 employees and 5,000–6,000 eligible lives. 60% of our workforce is in manufacturing, 40% in the office, and a small percentage are drivers. 60% male, 40% female. We focus on chronic condition prevalence and spend, dependent engagement, and seamless healthcare experience. We have four locations, all rural, and are expanding to a fifth in December. We’ve added behavioral health services recently. We integrate health coaching, nutrition, and primary care to meet individuals where they are.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: You brought in health coaches. Did you consider virtual point solutions? Why integrate instead?

Amanda Gebert: We wanted people to use the services. Point solutions are another place to go—less engagement. Integration drives utilization. Once we brought services onsite, engagement skyrocketed. It’s easier when everything is in one location.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Was the health coach’s schedule full on day one? How did you drive engagement?

Amanda Gebert: Meet people where they are. Create awareness—people need to hear it multiple times. Share success stories like Marek’s. Our providers are great at identifying needs beyond good blood work. Before Sargento, I didn’t even know what a health coach was.

Krista Beckwith: At Marathon, we recognize diversity in populations. We’re a certified training program for the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches. We also employ registered dietitians. Our care team collaborates across disciplines. We’re always hiring certified health coaches. They’re treated as clinical members of the care team.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Is there a connection between health coaching and medication adherence?

Krista Beckwith: Absolutely. Lifestyle management is foundational. Medication is a tool, not a long-term solution. Health coaching supports sustainable change.

Amanda Gebert: Yes, we’ve seen ripple effects. Behavior change improves overall well-being, satisfaction, and presenteeism. Motivation matters—forced change doesn’t last. Support and encouragement are key.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Let’s look at some data. Amanda, what’s your engagement rate?

Amanda Gebert: 85% of employees engage with our Health and Wellness Center. 63% of spouses and dependents engage. Member satisfaction is 99.6%. We see savings and biometric improvements. Our providers are long-tenured and trusted.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Tell us more about your care team.

Amanda Gebert: Each location has a nurse practitioner and medical assistant. Employees can visit any location. Health coach and dietitian float between sites. Providers are part of our community and team. We have an open-door policy and constant communication.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: How do you tie into the local ecosystem in rural areas? Are high engagement rates due to lack of access?

Amanda Gebert: We refer to local providers when needed. Our Health and Wellness Center can be a PCP, but we encourage external relationships too. Behavioral health access is limited in rural areas, so our services help. Convenience and fast access drive engagement.

Krista Beckwith: Integration is key. Bring healthcare to the population. Build relationships and trust. Create stickiness with the care team.

Amanda Gebert: Get people in the door. Once they experience Marathon, engagement grows. Health coaching helps those who need a nudge. The gratitude from success stories is powerful.

Dr. Nirav Vakharia: Thanks to you both and to our audience. Please reach out through the links provided to learn more. Have a great day.