On Friday we pulled the whole Huemn team together for our State of Huemn meeting. We went through the numbers from 2026, recognized a few people who really lived our values this year, and I shared where we're headed next.
Our team at the State of Huemn meeting on Friday.
Add a million healthy years to Houston and beyond.
I'm an engineer, so I like goals I can measure. I've made this one my mission. Let me walk you through the math, because you're part of it.
The years we're losing
Did you know the average American spends their last 12.4 years in poor health? Mayo Clinic researchers looked at 183 countries, and the U.S. had the biggest gap of any of them between how long people live and how long they stay healthy. Read the study
We know America is sick. Twelve years is a long time. It's a grandchild going from a newborn to middle school, and too many people spend those years on the sidelines.
Most people think that's just what getting old looks like. I don't. Getting older and getting sick are two different things.
What you can control
Harvard followed more than 111,000 adults for decades. At 50, women who kept five basic habits had about 34 years ahead of them free of cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Women who kept none had about 24. For men it was 31 years versus 23.5. Read the study
The five habits are simple. Don't smoke, keep a healthy weight, move at least 30 minutes a day, eat well and go easy on alcohol. That alone is worth up to ten healthy years.
For women the gap is even bigger. That same Mayo study found women lose about 2.4 more healthy years than men. It's a big reason Shawn Sepassi, APRN, FNP-C joined us this year. Shawn combines hormone therapy for women with functional medicine to help our clients age better, so we're looking at your hormones and labs right alongside how you're living day to day. And Shawn doesn't do it alone. Dr. Garcia and Michael are part of every plan, so you have our whole medical team behind you.
The math
1,000,000 healthy years (the goal)
÷ 10 good years each (what one person can win back)
= 100,000 people
So far we've served 29,000 people at Huemn. That leaves about 71,000 to go.
How we get there
At the meeting I told our team they're teachers first. We teach people there's a better way, then we help them live it.
A community class at Huemn Heights, with our mission right there on the wall.
Most of the time that starts with bloodwork. We find out what's actually going on inside your body, and then Dr. Juan Garcia, MD, Michael Blanco, MSN, APRN or Shawn Sepassi, APRN, FNP-C sits down with you and goes through it. A lot of that conversation is about what you're already doing right and should keep doing. People are usually surprised how much of that there is, and knowing a habit is paying off makes it a lot easier to stick with.
Then we have the tools. Hyperbaric oxygen, cryotherapy, red light, compression, hormones, peptides and IV therapy, all guided by your numbers.
A lot of what we do is aimed at lowering inflammation. Chronic inflammation is one of the biggest drivers of aging. Researchers even have a name for it, inflammaging. A 2019 review in Nature Medicine found more than half of all deaths worldwide are linked to inflammation-related diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Read the study
You may have read some of their stories in our newsletter, like the woman who may get to keep her leg and the man who walked in expecting a new knee. Every one of them started with somebody hearing there was a better way.
We also walk with people through the hardest seasons of their lives. This year Michael launched our oncology support program, and he'll tell you it's the part of his work he loves most. Our patients' oncology teams lead their treatment, and alongside it they come to Huemn for hyperbaric oxygen, high-dose vitamin C and integrative care. David was facing stage three pancreatic cancer, and he told us the best part was the care and the way our team rallied around him. Martin came in every day after radiation for brain cancer. He calls us family.
The people around you
This goes way past the people who walk through our doors. When you tell your spouse or your kids or a friend about something you learned here, you're adding healthy years to their life too.
The Framingham Heart Study tracked more than 12,000 people for 32 years. When someone's spouse quit smoking, that person was 67% less likely to smoke. If a friend quit, 36% less likely. Read the study
Being part of a community matters too. A review of 148 studies and more than 300,000 people found that people with strong social ties had 50% better odds of survival. Read the study
I see it at Huemn every week. Instead of meeting at the bar for a drink, people are meeting at Huemn for a freeze and squeeze, a few minutes in cryo and then compression boots next to each other. People come to our community classes to learn together, like the one in the photo above. To me, that's what a healthier Houston looks like.
So who do you want more healthy years with? Send this to them.
Start with your numbers
Our Advanced Panel looks at about 70 biomarkers, and a member of our medical team walks you through every result. Prefer to talk? Call (832) 779-1673.
Huemn is bigger than any one of us, me included. My hope is that one day it runs without me and keeps adding healthy years. Thank you for being part of it.
Better humanity begins with better health.
Bill Hanks, Founder, Huemn
This article is educational and is not medical advice. Services such as hyperbaric oxygen, hormone and peptide therapy and IV therapy require an evaluation with a licensed clinician. Medical services are provided by Huemn Medical PA, a physician-owned Texas professional association. Patient stories shared with permission. Results vary.