A Closer Look...

Promoting a program can be worth it

Why promote prevention and wellness? Over the last 15 years, researchers have observed that preventable illness makes up 70% or more of the total cost of health care. Workplace health promotion and preventive care initiatives have received much attention as research indicates that these programs can be cost-effective and can have a positive impact on employer costs as well as employee health, well-being and productivity.

Program objectives

The objectives of employer-sponsored wellness programs are to promote healthy lifestyles among employees by targeting the risks that result from poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, excessive stress, tobacco use and other unhealthy habits. These risk factors can lead to expensive chronic diseases and health issues for employees. Some behavior changes that a good program can affect in employees are:

1. Less absenteeism;
2. Fewer fatigue-related accidents;
3. Higher productivity;
4. Enhanced mental alertness; and
5. Higher employee morale.

These objectives can benefit an organization through:

1. Lower medical claims and insurance premiums;
2. Fewer disability claims;
3. Fewer losses due to accidents;
4. Increased productivity; and
5. Lower overtime and temporary worker salaries.

Our specific services

We can help implement a program by:

• Identifying cost and productivity problems that can be improved, e.g. high medical and disability claims, low productivity, and high overtime, etc...
• Identifying the modifiable health risk factors that should be part of your program
• Identifying the incentives, both tangible and intangible, that will lead to the success of your program
• Identifying compliance requirements for HIPPA and ADA
• Assisting with program management, communication goals and evaluating ROI