Posts from — August 2010

According to Gordian Health Solutions, the effectiveness of wellness programs in bettering health and decling healthcare costs is directly linked to incentives -

o  The more substantial the incentives,

o  The higher the success rate.

Incentives can range from tokens of achievement, such as t-shirts, water bottles and sports equipment, to more substantial financial awards, such as cash incentives or copay vouchers for the successful completion of a wellness program.

Nationwide Insurance is seeing results from a small incentive program initiated by one of the company’s onsite nurses.  To encourage lunchtime walking, the employee has informally launched a “shoelace program” modeled after the karate-belt color system.

Staff Members progress through the color scale until they reach “black-lace” status.  The reward system has resulted in more staff members making commitments to walk during their lunch hour.

At the high end of the reward spectrum, some corporations pay cash to employees who meet wellness objectives. LuK, Inc. offers employees $250 for kicking the tobacco habit and remaining smoke free for 12 months.

For logging fitness points that add up to 10 miles a month, workforce are eligible for health assessments, which could lead to reward amounts of up to $225.

The most effective motivator, as reported by Gordian research, comes through linking participation in health promotion programs directly to insurance premiums. Doing so obviously demonstrates to personnel the positive effects of wellness on their own healthcare costs.

Usually, the first step in linking wellness programming to insurance coverage is lowering deductibles for wellness care or eliminating deductibles altogether. By adding this benefit, businesses can encourage staff to undertake routine screenings and other procedures to respond to medical problems before they become chronic.

Early detection benefits both patient health and business health care costs.

Incentivizing wellness program participation with healthcare credits

More frequently, businesss are going beyond increased wellness care coverage and looking to demonstrate the importance of wellness by linking participation to employees’ bottom lines.

Worthington Industries has lately rolled out a wellness program that allows employees to eliminate their portion of the insurance premium by enrolling in a Healthful Options wellness program.

During the first year of the Healthful Choices program, personnel and their spouses complete Personal Health Assessments and biometric screenings to determine their levels of health risks.

Nurses, dietitians and exercise experts are available to help moderate- and high-risk participants develop individual action plans for improved health through the use of educational materials, behavior modification, telephone help from third-party program health coordinators, and formal health management programs.

By completing the assessments, staff earn their full premium credit. Because some plans at Worthington require no staff member contribution, a cash award takes the place of a credit in those cases.

During year two of the wellness program, the wellness bar is raised slightly.  To continue to receive the wellness credit, participants in the moderate- to high-risk category will be required to work at establishing objectives with third-party health coordinators.

Year three raises the bar again, requiring participants to show progress in meeting goals and to continue to work with health coordinators to reach goals.

After year three, Worthington Industries employees will be on the wellness track.  The company believes that’ll mean a healthier workforce and cost savings for employees and the company.

The well being of Worthington staff members is the foundation of this wellness program, and both staff members and the corporation are expected to benefit from the long-term advantages of the Healthful Options Health Promotion Program.

While Worthington has taken a broad approach to wellness, other corporations have found success in offering incentives in specific areas. Longaberger, for example, offers a discount on healthcare policies for staff members who don’t use tobacco.

An individual employee who doesn’t use tobacco saves $7 per bi-weekly pay. for tobacco-free personnel with family coverage whose families are also tobacco-free, the savings increases to $14 per pay.

The next step –  Penalizing harmful behaviors

As it stands, health care is the only type of insurance that does not focus on penalizing for behaviors that put the insured party at risk. With health care costs rising so dramatically, that could soon change.

Just as an accident likely raises auto insurance premiums, increasing premiums for those who engage in unhealthful behaviors is a possible next step in corporations’ attempts to manage health care costs.

Reports that staff would support this type of action are stacking up. One Ohio employer conducted an informal survey that indicated staff would consider it a morale improve if health-conscious staff were relieved of some of the burden of subsidizing care for staff who engage in behaviors that negatively affect their health.

Whether or not this type of health promotion program gains popularity, one thing is sure –  the need to control the rise in healthcare costs is becoming ever more pressing.

Take the first step

No matter what the strategy, from offering staff members health resources to providing incentives for healthful behaviors, companys have a real opportunity to improve morale and productivity, decrease absenteeism and control healthcare costs through wellness.

The first step is committing to taking one, whatever size effort is appropriate for your business.  Big strides start with small steps.

Preventing injuries is a high priority for employers, namely in factory settings such as Honda. That’s why the corporation offers a few programsâ.”including line-site process examinations â.”to identify potential hazards and help reduce the chance of injury.

As part of an early intervention program, Honda staff who are feeling pain can receive a massage of the affected area during work time.

Stretching programs are another effective tool in injury prevention. As reported by the Best Practices in Manufacturing Web site, Dayton Parts, Inc. (DPI) in Harrisburg, Pa., conducted research that revealed approximately 80 percent of all manufacturing injuries occurred within the first two hours of each shift.

After implementing a program that required production workforce to stretch for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning of their shifts, they saw a dramatic reduction in injuries.

While the DPI program costs about $75,000 a year to operate, and other business programs, it’s assisted bring the annual cost of workers’ compensation from $700,000 to $200,000 each year.6

To help prevent lengthy absences and reduce workers’ compensation claims, Honda instituted a work recovery program. Through the program, employees who’ve had an injury can work in a modified jobâ.”getting better.

Staff Members in the program spend their work days receiving physical conditioning to elevate overall fitness, physical therapy to restore functionality, health education and nutrition counseling.  The program is based on data that shows fewer work days are lost when an staff member stays connected to the work environment.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, www.ohiobwc.com, provides a “10-Step Corporation Plan” as a guide for corporations in providing wellness programs that aim to reduce injuries.  The plan includes information on safety and health programs to prevent occurrences of on-the-job accidents, including -

Staff Member involvement – to ensure the success of any organization health promotion program, workforce must participate in the safety and health-management process.

This could be done through safety and health audits, accident examinations, or by forming safety and health involvement teams, focus groups or committees.

Orientation and training plan – Conduct orientation and training sessions to educate staff members on the corporation’s safety policies.

These sessions should include procedures for the safe use of machinery and tools, chemical hazards and how to prevent contact or exposure, specific job/task safe practices, and hazard recognition and prevention.

Communication – Open communication keeps workers informed and provides suggestions and feedback on the effectiveness of the company’s health promotion program.

Through memos, bulletin boards and staff meetings, important health and safety information can be conveyed throughout the business, keeping all senior level management staff and staff knowledgeable about the company’s safe practices.

The business plan also outlines incentives for post-injury procedures, including -

Medical treatment and return-to-work practices – arly return-to-work strategies help injured or ill workers return to work in a timely manner.

Corporations should establish a disability management policy to help injured or ill employees obtain quality medical treatment, making their transition back to work quick and effortless.

Timely notification of claims – Employers should document worksite injuries immediately after they occur and promptly send that documentation to a claims handler.

Rapidly providing claim information demonstrates care and concern for the injured employee, prevents delays and confusion with the claim process, and reduces the potential for abuse or needless litigation.

Record keeping – Internal documents should be kept to record work-time injuries and to assess the success of the company’s safety efforts.

Business audits, surveys and injury or disease reports can all be used to analyze which safety practices and policies have proven successful, and what areas of wellness need improvement.

Dr. Moore of Nationwide maintains that immunization is the most cost-effective treatment in medicine. for example, vaccinating children against the influenza virus averages a savings (including health care costs, parents’ missed work, etc.) of up to $35 per vaccine recipient.

And professionals predict that estimate is low, because it does not take into account the rapid spread of the flu.

The American Association of Family Physicians’ Web site, www.aafp.org, offers a advised adult immunization schedule developed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

This schedule, tiered by age and chances of exposure, recommends diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, pneumonococcal, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, measles, mumps and rubella, varicella and meningococcal vaccinations.

Ideas to incorporate avoidance and early detection -

o  Hold a health fair and invite companies that provide screening services for such conditions as blood pressure, blood iron, cholesterol, Body Mass Index (BMI)  and diabetes.

o  Give educational materials about well-baby care and immunizations.

o  Select health care coverage plans that include wellness check-ups and immunizations.

o  Provide onsite mammograms for workers.

o  Sponsor onsite flu shots to coincide with flu season.

Advantages of Stress Reduction Programs

While stress cannot be eliminated from life, or even from the workplace, coping skills can be created with relative ease. Stress management skills lead to decreased absenteeism and more effective, more productive workforce.

Because stress has been shown to contribute to such physical conditions as ulcers, high blood pressure (BP) and stroke, stress reduction has a direct impact on bettering physical health.

Studies have shown that heart patients who attend stress management programs have 42% lower health care costs. Other studies have documented a 50% reduction in medical services use when stress management programs are employed.

Further, Worker Assistance Program (EAP) experts estimate that 20 percent of any workforce is affected by personal problems that can influence work performance.

Stress reduction tactics to consider -

o  Give onsite yoga or meditation classes.

o  Organize support groups among employees.

o  Sponsor stress management classes during the workday.

o  Provide an employee assistance program that includes both counseling and referral.

o  Give onsite counseling for staff by a work-related trauma, like the death of a coworker.

Benefits of Prenatal Care and Breastfeeding

The old adage “an ounce of avoidance is worth a pound of cure” is especially relevant to when applied to preventive measures taken during pregnancy, when several extra ounces of birth weight can save a child’s life.

During pregnancy, simple precautions can help avoid catastrophic results; giving up use of tobacco, for instance, drastically lowers the risk of miscarriage and pre-term labor.

The March of Dimes reports that if all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during pregnancy, the number of babies born with a neural tube defect could drop by as much as 70 percent.

The physical and emotional benefits of proper prenatal care to a mother and child are underscored by a strong organization case for offering prenatal wellness benefits. Nationwide’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Michael Moore, estimates costs to care for one baby delivered prematurely could approach $500,000.

First steps in fostering a prenatal program -

o  Invite the March of Dimes to present information about prenatal health at an staff member brownbag lunch or breakfast meeting.

o  Hold prenatal care information classes for interested workers at lunch.

o  Give educational materials about the effects of alcohol, drugs and smoking on an unborn child.

o  Give incentives for adopting healthy life choices during pregnancy.

o  Make available prenatal programs and education as part of the corporation health care package.