Archive for December, 2008
Health and Wellness Planning Guide
Getting Started – Secure management support
• Justifications for having a Health and Wellness
• Health risk assessments
• Help for high-risk population: smokers, obese workers
• Early detection of diabetes, heart disease risk factors (high cholesterol, high blood pressure)
Health and Wellness Participation – Identify your audience
• Employees only, whole family, retirees?
• Community involvement? Theme?
Health and Wellness Time Line
• [...]
Corporate Health and Wellness Program Incentives
According to Gordian Health Solutions, the effectiveness of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs in improving health and reducing medical costs is directly linked to incentives: the more substantial the incentives, 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, [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on Injury Prevention
Preventing injuries is a high priority for employers, especially in factory settings such as Honda. That’s why the organization offers several programs—including line-site process evaluations —to identify potential hazards and help reduce the chance of injury. As part of an early intervention program, Honda workers who are feeling pain can receive a massage of the [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on Early Detection and Prevention:
Dr. Moore of Nationwide maintains that immunization is the most cost-effective treatment in medicine. By way of example, vaccinating children against the influenza virus averages a savings (including medical costs, parents’ missed work, etc.) of up to $35 per vaccine recipient. And experts predict that estimate is low, because it doesn’t take into account the [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on Stress Reduction
Benefits of Stress Reduction Programs
While stress cannot be eliminated from life, or even from the worksite, coping skills can be developed with relative ease. Stress management skills lead to reduced absenteeism and more effective, more productive workers. Because stress has been shown to contribute to such physical conditions as ulcers, high blood pressure and stroke, [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on Prenatal Care and Breastfeeding
Benefits of Prenatal Care and Breastfeeding
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is particularly relevant to when applied to preventive measures taken during pregnancy, when a few extra ounces of birth weight can save a child’s life. During pregnancy, simple precautions can help avoid catastrophic results; giving up smoking, [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on smoking Cessation Programs
Benefits of smoking Cessation Programs
Instances of respiratory diseases, cancer and other illnesses can be reduced through smoking cessation efforts. smoking cessation programs can provide huge opportunities for improved health.
The American Cancer Society reports that smoking workers cost employers an average of $1,429 per smoker per year in increased medical costs over non-smoking workers. Implementing a [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on Nutrition Programs
Benefits of Nutrition Programs
Nutrition directly impacts nearly every aspect of physical and mental health. A healthy diet can help protect against such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, certain cancers and depression. Obesity, which is among the most common conditions linked to diet, affects a record number of Americans.
The American Journal of Health Promotion [...]
Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: Focus on Fitness Initiatives
Benefits of Fitness Initiatives
Exercise reduces weight, lowers risks of heart attack and stroke, helps to control blood pressure and diabetes, and improves mood. Studies increasingly show that physical fitness may also help reduce the occurrence of certain types of cancer. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently documented another major advantage: [...]
The Case for Worksite Health and Wellness Programs
Wellness programming means different things to different employers. Effective wellness initiatives can be as simple as bringing bushel baskets of fresh fruit into break rooms to encourage better eating. They can be as extensive as building fitness facilities onsite or paying for obesity treatments.
A driving factor behind the push toward wellness spans employers of all [...]
