Wellness at at Work Work Lorain County Heart Education, Awareness, and Resource Team Heart Education, Awareness, and Resource Team Conducted through the Lorain County General Health District

Why Worksite Wellness?  Well-designed worksite health promotion interventions can have an enormous impact on disease prevention and control, which can result in significant savings in healthcare spending.

 Approximately 82% of the US population is employed, a dependent, or a retiree; and, employers provide health care coverage to roughly 70% of employees.  Chapman, L Proof Positive

 Overall, $1.4 trillion is spent annually on health care in the U.S. - that's $3.8 billion a day.  David Hunnicutt, CEO, Wellness Councils of America

The Bottom Line Unhealthy behaviors Health risks Chronic disease Health care costs

Health promotion programs help to:  prevent chronic diseases,  reduce sickness-related absenteeism,  and increase employee productivity,  with the long-term potential of reducing overall health care costs.

Reasons employers give for instituting health promotion programs  Improve employee morale (77%)  Retain good workers (75%)  Attract good employees (67%)  Improve productivity (64%)

 Attracting superlative workers in a competitive global marketplace  Reducing absenteeism/lost time  Improving on-the-job decision-making and time utilization (reduced “presenteeism”)  Improving employee morale and fostering stronger organizational commitments  Reducing organizational conflict by building a reservoir of good-will toward management;  Reducing employee turnover Chapman LS. Proof Positive: An Analyses of the Cost-Effectiveness of Worksite Wellness. 4th ed. Seattle, WA: Summex Corporation; Benefits to Employer

Benefits to Employee  Improving their physical strength, stamina, and general wellbeing  Improving their focus at work  Increasing job satisfaction and fostering a positive outlook on life  Bettering relations with co-workers and supervisors  Chapman LSM. Clearing Up the Productivity “Fog”. The Art of Health Promotion 1999; 3 (5): 1-12.

Return On Investment  “The data supporting the claim that health promotion programs can reduce medical care costs and reduce absenteeism is of higher quality than the data most businesses have to support other investments of similar cost.”  Michael O’Donnell, Editor in Chief & President, American Journal of Health Promotion

Evidence of financial ROI  The indirect costs (e.g., absenteeism, presenteeism) of poor health can be two to three times the direct medical costs.  Edington DW, Burton WN. Health and productivity. In: McCunney, RJ: A Practical Approach to Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 3rd ed. 2003: ;  Burton WN, Pransky G, Conti DJ, Chen CY, Edington DW. The association of medical conditions and presenteeism. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(6) suppl:S38-S45:  Pelletier B, Boles M, Lynch W. Change in health risks and work productivity over time. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(7): :  Goetzel RZ, Long SR, Ozminkowski RJ, Hawkins K, Wang S, Lynch W. Health, absence, disability, and presenteeism cost estimates of certain physical and mental health conditions affecting U.S. Employers. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(4): ;

 Productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year, or $225.8 billion annually.  Stewart WF, Ricci JA, Chee E, Morganstein D. Lost productive work time costs from health conditions in the United States: results from the American productivity audit. J Occup Environ Med. 2003;45(12): ;  Stewart WF, Ricci JA, Chee E, Morganstein D. Lost productive work time costs from health conditions in the United States: results from the American productivity audit. J Occup Environ Med. 2003;45(12): ;

A meta-review of 42 published studies of worksite health promotion programs shows:  Average 28% reduction in sick leave absenteeism  Average 26% reduction in health costs  Average 30% reduction in workers' compensation and disability management claims costs  Average $5.93-to-$1 savings-to-cost ratio  Chapman LS. Meta-evaluation of worksite health promotion economic return studies. The Art of Health Promotion. 2003;6(6):1-16. Healthy Workforce 2010 Healthy Workforce 2010

 A review of 73 published studies of worksite health promotion programs shows an average $3.50-to-$1 savings-to-cost ratio in reduced absenteeism and health care cost.  Aldana SG. Financial impact of health promotion programs: a comprehensive review of the literature. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2001;15(5): ;

How do you determine ROI  Presenteeism cost = 1.8 × annual health care cost  Absenteeism cost =.2 × annual health care cost

 The WellSteps ROI calculator can tell you how much your organization is spending on each of these costs.  To use the ROI calculator click on the “Tools” link at

 design/cost_calculators.htm Cost Calculators

 Common Characteristics of Successful Programs

Seven Benchmarks to Worksite Wellness  Establishing senior level support  Building wellness teams  Collecting data  Writing an operating plan  Choosing interventions  Creating supportive environments  Evaluating outcomes

Small Business 1. Capturing CEO Support 2. Designating a Company Wellness Leader 3. Conducting an Employee Health Interest Survey 4. Providing an Opportunity for Health Screening 5. Administering an Annual Physical Activity Campaign 6. Holding a Healthy Eating In-service/Lunch ‘n Learn 7. Establishing an In-house Wellness Library 8. Disseminating a Quarterly Health Newsletter 9. Implementing Healthy Policies and Procedures 10. Supporting Community Health Efforts

Chronic Disease: The Data Actual underlying causes of death in 2000 were:  tobacco use  poor diet  physical inactivity  high alcohol consumption (CDC Fact Sheet: Actual Causes of Death in the US, 2000)

Health promotion interventions…  increase awareness & knowledge,  change behavior,  influence environmental and policy changes …to improve employee health. …to improve employee health.

Awareness Education Behavioral Interventions Environmental Policy  Health Education  Employee survey  Wellness index  Nutrition Messages  Nutritional labeling  Live Healthy Lorain County Web-site  Healthy Ohio Worksite Award  Physical Activity Lorain County Walks Lorain County Walks  Nutrition Snackwise Snackwise  Smoking Cessation Ohio Quit-line Ohio Quit-line  Resources Health screenings Health screenings Classes Classes  Mapped walking paths  Stairwell Enhancement  Workplace Policies: Food Food Smoke-free Smoke-free Seat belt Seat belt Breast feeding Breast feeding  Emergency Preparedness

Sources  New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Wellness at Work  Wellness Councils of America  Center For Disease Control and Prevention- Healthier Worksite Initiative – Cost Calculators  Partnership for Prevention Healthy Workforce 2010 Healthy Workforce 2010  Wellsteps –  Healthy Ohio -

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Alliance for the Healthiest Nation 