Ice scream: Iconic figure skater Scott Hamilton, who was a 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and is seen here signing autographs at the event, told the crowd: “My relationship with my doctors has saved my life in my two battles with cancer. I have a two-year-old and a six-year-old and I want to be around to see them grow up. Having that close relationship with your doctors is key and not just when you’re sick.” (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In the video clip below, Mike Barber, who heads GE’s healthymagination initiative, talks about the critical role that the health volunteers are playing at the Games.

Today’s panel discussion focused on tips for healthy living — and on how both the current and former Olympic athletes have learned to focus on their own wellness.

Medal round: Two of the Better Health Heroes are seen above hitting the ice with their colleagues to celebrate. Today’s event was held at Vancouver’s Robson Square ice rink, which GE helped refurbish and has been renamed GE Plaza until the end of the Games. The rink has become the main center of attention for Olympic fans as it’s not only packed with families skating, but performances and events have been featured each night during the competitions. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The video below shows just how critical the medical teams are rink-side and slope-side – and how GE’s technology is helping bring a number of ‘firsts’ to the games. As Dr. Mike Wilkinson, head of medical services at the games, says in the clip: “Volunteering at the Olympics as a team physician is one of the highlights of a career.” Adds Dr. Ross Brown, polyclinic manager: “They really want to be here. They not only want to work with the equipment and the uniqueness of the environment, but they want to do their part to support the Olympics and the Paralympics.”

The Games’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jack Taunton, said at the event that more than 1,500 Healthy Heroes have volunteered to make the Olympics possible.

Fit club: Martin Brodeur, the goalie for Team Canada Ice Hockey and a gold medalist in Salt Lake City, told the cheering crowd: “When you go out every day to perform, you have to take care of yourself. A healthy lifestyle is not just exercise, it’s an attitude.” (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Michelle Kwan told the panel: “When I was competing in the Olympics, it was my job to be in shape. Now I have to make it a priority to get healthy, work out and get enough sleep. My dad always said, ‘Remember to take care of yourself,’ and that’s what I make sure I do now.”

A good sign: Angela Ruggiero, current defenseman for the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team and a three-time Olympic Medalist, said at the event: “I always have this incredible team of doctors, physical therapists and nutritionists to support me. A program like healthymagination gives all of us the tools and support to help achieve those goals.” (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

As Mike said at the event: “We want to change the conversation about health and healthcare to one of optimism and possibility so that people around the world can imagine, embrace and commit to leading healthier, more productive lives.

To your health! Audience members at the rink-side event were encouraged to visit healthymagination.com, where they can find tools and information to help them take a more proactive role in their own better health. GE’s initiative is all about bringing better health to more people through innovations and technology — and by encouraging everyone to develop a stronger relationship with their doctors. From left are Mike, Michelle, Martin, Angela, Scott and Dr. Jack Taunton. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In the clip below, Angela shares her health tips during a break at today’s event:

And in this clip, Scott takes a playful dig at at those of us out there who know what to do when it comes to good health, but just never seem to put it into practice:

* Members of the media can learn more at healthymagination.com/news
* Follow detailed coverage of today’s event on healthymagination’s blog
* See an interview from today’s event with Martin Brodeur on CNET
* View photos from today on GE’s Flickr page
* Read more Olympics stories on GE Reports
* Learn more about our healthymagination business strategy

Power play: GE and Plutonic executives celebrated the official start of construction on phase one of the Dokie Wind Project, which is 680 miles northeast of Vancouver, during the event at Robson Square, above. GE Energy Financial Services, which is our energy investment arm, and Plutonic jointly contributed and arranged $218 million of project equity and debt to finance construction of the project.

With phase one of the Dokie project now underway, roads are being cleared and foundations are being prepped for the wind turbines. The 144-megawatt project is expected to reach commercial operation by early next year and provide enough electricity to meet the annual needs of 34,000 homes and avoid more than 229,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel sources — the equivalent of taking 44,000 cars off the road.

Donald McInnes, left, and Alex Urquhart

In the audio clip below, Donald McInnes, CEO of Plutonic Power Corporation, describes the project and the work that was done with the seven First Nations, whose traditional territories are where the two projects are located:

As Alex Urquhart, president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services, says in the clip below: “We think we’re a lot closer to the beginning of what can be done up here in British Columbia in the renewables space than we are at the end.”

The video clip below shows what is envisioned for the Dokie wind project:

GE and Plutonic executives also announced that the $628 million, 196-megawatt East Toba River and Montrose Creek Hydroelectric Project, located 118 miles northwest of Vancouver, is more than 80 percent complete. It has the potential to power approximately 75,000 homes and displace an estimated 455,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually — the equivalent of taking approximately 90,000 cars off the road. In the clip below, the Toba Valley project is explained.

GE and Plutonic Power are also preparing to undertake a feasibility study on the expansion of the Dokie Wind Project to 300 megawatts, which would be the largest private-sector wind farm built west of Ontario. The partners also are pursuing the Upper Toba Valley and Bute Inlet run-of-river hydroelectric projects in British Columbia.

* Read more about the Vancouver event
* Read coverage in the Globe and Mail
* Read coverage via Bloomberg News
* Read “GE, Plutonic may double capacity of Dokie Ridge” in Recharge News
* Read more Energy Financial Services stories on GE Reports
* Click here to learn about Canada’s study on wind farm revenues
* Learn more about GE Energy Financial Services
* See videos about the Plutonic projects

And the survey says! Click on the graphic to use the visualization tool on our healthymagination.com website. It highlights a selection of the Better Health survey questions so that you can answer them yourself — and then see how your responses compare to the broader survey results.

As part of GE’s healthymagination efforts at this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, GE is working with Michelle Kwan — a two-time Olympic champion and five-time World Champion figure skater — to help increase awareness about consumer health tools available on healthymagination.com and the ways in which you can take charge of your own health. As she says in the video below, “It’s important to go to your doctors — not just to listen to your doctors but to be proactive. Do your research.”

Among other findings in GE’s new survey, is that 92 percent of healthcare professionals give Americans far lower grades — “C” or lower — on managing their personal health than Americans give to themselves. At the same time, many Americans say they would rather live in pain (47 percent) than visit their doctor — and they prioritize household chores over healthy living. For example, 33 percent of respondents said time is the single biggest challenge to living healthier, yet 50 percent spend more time cleaning their house or thinking about living in a cleaner house than taking care of their personal health (44 percent). The study surveyed more than 3,000 people — 1,000 of whom were healthcare professionals.

It also found that most Americans see the health of others on the wrong track — but not their own. Yet, when asked what their personal health numbers are, only 24 percent knew their body mass index (BMI); just 29 percent knew their blood glucose level; only one third new their daily caloric intake; and only 36 percent knew their current cholesterol levels.

* Click here to read the full details about GE’s new health survey.

Try out our other visualization tools:
* Seed’s The Cost of Getting Sick tool shows the cost of chronic conditions
* Seed’s Health Issues tool shows how some conditions are related to one another
* Seed’s How’s Your Health Profile? tool lets you see conditions common to your profile
* GOOD’s Cost of Chronic Diseases info-graphic shows the costs of leading diseases
* GOOD’s Causes of Death info-graphic shows the leading causes by age
* GOOD’s World Health info-graphic shows the money 12 countries spend on healthcare

* See all of GE’s data visualizations in one place
* See a video in “Ben Fry & Seed labs visualize The Cost of Getting Sick”
* Learn more about our healthymagination business strategy
* Read more Olympics stories on GE Reports

As we described in our story on Wednesday, this year’s Winter Games have another medical first, as doctors and clinics will be using the most comprehensive information technology solution for healthcare support in Olympic Games history. GE technologies will be connecting staff at remote polyclinics and mobile medical units — which are positioned close to the ski runs and other venues that are often far from hospitals — in order to provide the most updated information in emergency situations.

Healthcare solutions such as the rink-side ultrasound and the IT connectivity are both examples of GE’s healthymagination initiative to drive technologies that increase access to care while simultaneously reducing costs and increasing quality. To help show how those technologies can make a real difference in people’s lives, new TV ads were launched this week. The humorous spot below shows how Electronic Medical Records help doctors treat their patients better by having all of a patient’s medical history is in one place.

And, as you’ll hear if you click on this TV spot, saying “ahh” never sounded better.

In the U.S., we’re celebrating President’s Day on Monday — which also gives everyone extra time to stay glued to the Olympics! See you again on Tuesday.

* Watch our other healthymagination TV spots on our YouTube channel
* Learn more about GE’s work with the Olympics
* Read “At Vancouver Olympics, a great skate on newly nice ice” on GE Reports
* Watch a video about our mobile medical unit
* Learn more about the games
* Learn more about GE’s ongoing work with the Olympics
* Read “Olympic countdown begins: 1,000 days to London 2012” on GE Reports
* Read more healthymagination stories on GE Reports

Crystal clear: Prominent ads at the Vancouver games showcase GE Healthcare’s imaging technologies and GE’s healthymagination efforts to lower costs while simultaneously increasing access and improving quality.

A centerpiece of the technologies being used is GE Healthcare’s Centricity imaging solution. It combines web-based reporting systems with the imaging systems — allowing the clinical staff of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to digitize their imaging work and more easily share it with other doctors and locations. For athletes, it could reduce or eliminate the need to transport them for medical advice -– and can ultimately allow a quicker return to competition.

View master: The system’s user-friendly design provides an “electronic trading post” for radiology images. It means that medical automation systems such as Hospital Information Systems (HIS), Electronic Medical Records Systems (EMR), Practice Management Systems, and Radiology Information Systems (RIS) can all more easily interact with each other.

“This will also be the first time the medical staff can interface very easily with a large hospital authority like Vancouver Coastal Health that covers the whole Olympic Winter Games Corridor,” Dr. Jack Taunton, chief medical officer of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

GE is also providing a range of infrastructure solutions for Olympic Games venues including power, lighting, water treatment, transportation and security. GE’s healthcare work during the Winter Games includes supplying the games with a new 64-slice CT scanner, which is the first for the region; two polyclinics, one in Vancouver and one in Whistler, featuring GE Healthcare technologies; digital imaging equipment including ultrasound technology; and a mobile medical unit, pictured below..

Let’s roll! At first sight, GE’s mobile medical unit is a 15.9-meter tractor-trailer. However, it has expandable sides that create 90 square meters of space — converting it to a 12-bed clinic. It includes a recovery/triage area and intensive care unit, as well as an operating room with two independent surgical beds. A support trailer will also be stocked with 72 hours worth of surgical supplies and other equipment. Following the Games, the Province of British Columbia will purchase the unit from Olympic organizing committee.

* Learn more about GE’s work with the Olympics
* Read today’s announcement
* Watch a video about our mobile medical unit
* Learn more about the upcoming games
* Learn more about GE’s ongoing work with the Olympics
* Read “Olympic countdown begins: 1,000 days to London 2012” on GE Reports
* Read more healthymagination stories on GE Reports

Cool runnings: Skaters took to the ice during the grand reopening on November 23. GE Plaza will be the center of holiday activities in the heart of Vancouver prior to the Games, and home to performances and events during the competitions.

Chris Katsuleres

Located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Robson Square rink was upgraded — and the ice surface was expanded by about 37 percent — at a cost of $2 million, of which GE contributed $700,000. GE technologies used in the revitalization include the refrigeration plant electrical distribution system that makes the ice and energy-efficient LED lighting.

In the audio clip below, GE’s Chris Katsuleres calls in from the opening event. As he says, the idea for Robson sprang from the successful work that GE and Italian officials did revitalizing the ice plaza in Torino, Italy, during the 2006 Winter Games.

Blades of glory: The $2-million ice rink upgrade is part of the Province’s larger, $11-million upgrade to Lower Robson Square, which includes replacing the entire waterproofing membrane on the plaza level, removing and replacing the current domes with larger, more open domes with clear glass for better visibility and installing a new ceiling with GE energy efficient LED lighting.

Animal house: The 2010 Olympic mascots hit the ice during the grand reopening. Sumi, at left, is an animal guardian spirit, which according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, has the hat of an orca whale, the wings of the Thunderbird and the legs of the black bear. In the middle is Quatchi, who is described as a young, shy sasquatch, or bigfoot, who comes from the mysterious forests of Canada and dreams of becoming a world-famous goalie. At the right is Miga, a snowboarding sea bear inspired by the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations that describe orca whales transforming into bears when they arrive on land.

Night lights: As a worldwide sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic Games GE works closely with host countries, cities and organizing committees to provide infrastructure solutions for Olympic venues including power, lighting, water treatment, transportation and security, and to supply hospitals with ultrasound and MRI equipment to help doctors treat athletes.

Slip-sliding away: The new ice rink is free – with skate rentals costing just $3. Robson Square will host live entertainment from now through the Games and family activities through December. Robson Square has been a central part of Vancouver’s community for over 30 years. It is the site of the Provincial Law Courts, University of British Columbia Robson Square, government offices and a public space connecting to the Vancouver Art Gallery.

* Read the announcement
* Read “High-tech in tight places: Olympics get mobile med unit” on GE Reports
* Learn more about the upcoming games
* Learn more about GE’s ongoing work with the Olympics
* Read “Olympic countdown begins: 1,000 days to London 2012” on GE Reports

We’re celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S., so we’ll see you again on Monday – hopefully after ice-skating away some of those holiday calories!

The $4.5-million mobile medical unit will be an extension of the on-site polyclinic center, which is staffed around the clock with doctors, specialists and nurses. The unit will provide immediate access to high-quality, diagnostic and patient monitoring equipment in addition to a surgical area that can be used in dire emergencies.

The 15.9-meter tractor-trailer can expand to 90 square meters and includes a recovery/triage area and intensive care unit, as well as an operating room with two independent surgical beds. A support trailer will also be stocked with 72 hours worth of surgical supplies and other equipment. Following the Games, the Province of British Columbia will purchase the unit from Olympic organizing committee.

* Read the announcement
* Learn more about the upcoming games
* Learn more about GE’s ongoing work with the Olympics
* Read “Olympic countdown begins: 1,000 days to London 2012” on GE Reports

Learn more about GE Healthcare’s technologies in these GE Reports stories:
* “GE launches eHealth unit to better connect clinical info”
* “Flu fighters: CDC picks GE Healthcare to track H1N1”
* “Scintillating tech: The world’s 1st high-def CT scanner”
* “Tackling access with Brivo imaging technologies”
* “A closer look at GE’s pocket-sized Vscan ultrasound”
* “GE announces cancer research; $250M fund; clinic aid”
* “Developing Health: A clinic grows in Brooklyn”

On your mark! GE’s medical equipment will help diagnose athletes on-site so that they can receive expert medical care with less impact to their training or competition schedules.

GE is supplying the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games medical equipment, worth more than $7.3 million. It includes a healthymagination-validated CT scanner, an MR scanner, ultrasound machines, an electrocardiogram machine and an x-ray machine. The equipment will likely be located in the Olympic Park, the sailing venue in Weymouth & Portland and the rowing venue at Eton College Rowing Centre.

Additionally, GE Energy is helping London 2012 achieve its goal of minimizing the environmental impact of the Games by providing its ecomagination-certified Jenbacher cogeneration technology to power two natural gas and biomass-fueled energy centers at the Games. In particular, it will help the Olympic Delivery Authority reach its target of a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions through the use of renewable and alternative energy sources compared to traditional heating, cooling and power generation equipment. They’ll not only provide heating and cooling systems for the Games, but will continue to benefit the local community for generations to come.

Bulking up: The first energy center, seen above, is being built in the Stratford City development area and will feature two of GE Energy’s Jenbacher 3.3-MW natural gas cogeneration modules. The second plant on the Western end of the Olympic Park will be fitted with one 3.3-MW GE Energy Jenbacher module to help generate the thermal power needed for the Aquatics Centre swimming pools and other venues. It will also generate electrical and thermal power for competition sites, homes and other buildings in the area.

* Read “Hey baby! GE donates $8M for UK maternal hospital“ on GE Reports
* Read about Jenbachers powering greenhouses
* Learn how many cows, pigs or sheep it takes to power 900 homes
* Learn more about ecomagination
* Read about our biogas technology

After the event, GE Reports had a chance to catch up with John Jakovich, GE service management leader (and member of the Stadium team) to ask him about the award. Here’s what John had to say.

“For me, the successful operation of the venues during the Olympic Games was reward enough. We put a lot of time and effort to ensure the success of our equipment during the games, and seeing that hard work pay off was very satisfying. Having said that, it is quite an honor for that effort to be recognized by our customer, as well. The National Stadium was a key focus point throughout the Olympic Games; beginning with the Opening Ceremony, and ending with the Closing Ceremony. Being recognized as a key contributor to the success of this venue is definitely a highlight of my career with GE.”

* More on GE’s support of the Olympic Games

Earlier this week, GE hosted a customer and media event, drawing more than 400 attendees to the British Museum in London, where stakeholders discussed the value and economic benefits that the London 2012 Olympic Games present.

Check out the media coverage of the event:
* Bloomberg
* The Daily Telegraph

Read our press release about the work we’re doing with EDF Energy Networks.

Read the Financial Times piece – “Understanding the Energy Challenge: Delivering Change.”