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Compiled by Janice Kleinschmidt
Proven to Work
With employee sick days and skyrocketing insurance costs plaguing bottom lines, some companies have taken a proactive approach to seeing that their employees stay healthy. They have established wellness programs that address diet, exercise, smoking cessation, weight and stress management, fatigue, and general health issues.
Coachella Valley Water District implemented Healthy Futures’ disease management program in 2004.
“It provides benefits to both the employee and the district,” says Risk Manager Lesley Cohen. “The employee could work on their personal health goals, and the district could benefit by having healthier employees, resulting in greater productiv-ity and lower health costs. … After two years, we are able to quantify results and reap the rewards.”
Dr. Bruce Underwood, who custom-designed the district’s program, as well as those for other Coachella Valley companies, says, “There are programs like this across the country. It’s a move toward the whole consumer-driven healthcare model that’s going to occur more and more.”
Underwood’s company, Healthy Futures, focuses on improving health through lifestyle modifications. “We are starting to actually measure behavior based on something specific,” he says. Monitoring is done internally based on absenteeism, health insurance claims, prescription drug data, and worker’s compensation claims before, during, and after personal health control interventions. The programs are intended to complement, not replace, health plans and personal physicians.
“I wanted to learn everything I could about healthy living,” says Leon Holiday, a Coachella Valley Water District employee. “So I volunteered for the program and have been recruiting others to join.”
In addition to controlling costs and reducing absenteeism, health management programs help companies recruit and retain quality workers and improve morale. Participation is voluntary and in some cases available to employees’ spouses.
A certified nutrition specialist, preventive care specialist, and exercise physiologist with a doctorate in prevention from the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Underwood says companies for which he has provided health management programs have offered employees incentives up to $150 a year. For example, an employee may earn $40 if they stop smoking, $50 if they lose weight, and $25 if they get a cancer screening. The companies provide paid time for employees to consult with Underwood at the work site for one half-hour session each month. The information gathered cannot be used or disclosed without the employee’s written authorization.
In addition to one-on-one counseling, educa-tional resources are made available, based on recognized national protocols and guidelines.
Information: Healthy Futures, 238-1446 or
doctor@bruceunderwooddrph.com |
