When you ask Dianna Giordano, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service for the City of Fort Worth, why she’s spent over 30 years in public service, her answer is deeply personal and powerfully universal: “You can actually see the fruits of your labor in the community where you live and work.” And that includes investing in the health of the 8,000+ employees who keep the city running.
From traffic lights and public parks to clean water and library services, Fort Worth’s municipal employees are the boots on the ground. Keeping them healthy isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s critical to city operations.
In the video below, Dianna talks more about how Hello Heart has become an essential part of the city’s benefit program.
A Lesson in Prevention That Hits Home
For Dianna, heart health is more than a public policy issue, it’s personal. She shared the emotional story of her father’s sudden heart condition: “He went from being well one day to being hospitalized the next. Even the doctor told us to say our goodbyes.”
That experience, marked by the lack of early warning signs, left a lasting impact. “If there had been some earlier indicators or prevention strategies, it could have saved a lot of heartache and pain,” she said. That’s why she’s now passionate about giving employees tools her father never had: “I wish that would have been available to him. And I’m glad to say we make that available to our members.”
Empowerment Through Information
Hello Heart empowers members to track their blood pressure, monitor their risk factors, and get personalized tips. For Fort Worth employees, it’s a game changer.
“Hello Heart puts information directly into our members’ hands,” Dianna explained. “It helps them follow their doctor’s regimen and provides alerts when something might need adjusting. That kind of empowerment—knowing what’s happening in your body—is priceless.”
And it’s working. Fort Worth has seen a 4:1 return on investment since implementing the Hello Heart program. “Four dollars saved for every one dollar spent. I don’t know that you can get a better benefit from any other offering we’ve extended to our employees.”
More Than a Metric, It’s Personal
In HR, it’s easy to view preventive health programs through a cost-savings lens. But Dianna reminds us of the human side: “At the end of the day, it’s the lives of our employees that is the most important. That’s what gives me peace of mind.”
What makes Hello Heart stand out, she says, isn’t just the numbers. It’s the impact that can’t be captured on a spreadsheet: “People will stop me in the hallway and say, ‘Here’s what Hello Heart did for me.’ You don’t get that kind of feedback from most benefits.”
These personal stories, Dianna says, are what validate the program: “You can’t gauge that through a survey. But when a member takes the time to tell you how it changed their life, that’s profound.”
A Message to Other Public Sector Leaders
Dianna’s advice to fellow HR leaders in government is clear: “Give it a try. I think your members will find it useful. And I think you’ll find the ROI very comparable to what we’ve seen.”
But more than that, she encourages employers to see their workforce as family. “You want to treat them like you would your own family—especially when it comes to heart health.”
Hear more stories and see how Hello Heart could make a difference for your team. Request a demo today.
1. Gazit T, Gutman M, Beatty AL. Assessment of Hypertension Control Among Adults Participating in a Mobile Technology Blood Pressure Self-management Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2127008, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27008. Accessed October 19, 2022. (Some study authors are employed by Hello Heart. Because of the observational nature of the study, causal conclusions cannot be made. See additional important study limitations in the publication. This study showed that 108 participants with baseline blood pressure over 140/90 who had been enrolled in the program for 3 years and had application activity during weeks 148-163 were able to reduce their blood pressure by 21 mmHg using the Hello Heart program.) (2) Livongo Health, Inc. Form S-1 Registration Statement. https:/www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1639225/000119312519185159/d731249ds1.htm. Published June 28, 2019. Accessed October 19, 2022. (In a pilot study that lasted six weeks, individuals starting with a blood pressure of greater than 140/90 mmHg, on average, had a 10 mmHG reduction.) NOTE: This comparison is not based on a head-to-head study, and the difference in results may be due in part to different study protocols.
2. Validation Institute. 2021 Validation Report (Valid Through October 2022). https://validationinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Hello_Heart-Savings-2021- Final.pdf. Published October 2021. Accessed October 19, 2022. (This analysis was commissioned by Hello Heart, which provided a summary report of self-fundedemployer client medical claims data for 203 Hello Heart users and 200 non-users from 2017-2020. Findings have not been subjected to peer review.)
