Posted by Company Wellness | Posted in Company Wellness | Posted on 22-11-2008
Advantages of Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Easy to Find
Employer’s are learning that Corporate Health Promotion Programs is an effective way to increase productivity, improve worker health, reduce healthcare costs and reduce rates of absence.
A report published in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for corporations to incorporate Corporate Health Promotion Programs as part of their company strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on corporation, including lower productivity and higher health insurance costs.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that $1.66 trillion was spent on medical care in 2003 and it attributes a majority of those costs to chronic diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and asthma. Sadly, the money allocated for preventing or controlling these conditions is negligible.
In a recently published article, American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin reported two thirds of cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, physical fitness, cancer screening and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Corporate Health Promotion Programs initiative serves the best interests of workers and corporations alike.
Advantages of Wellness Progams: ROI
Ron Goetzel, a nationally recognized expert in the field of health management, data assessment and applied research, said in a recently published interview that with an investment of $100 to $150 per worker per year in Corporate Health Promotion Programs, an employer can expect an average return on investment (ROI) of approximately $3 for every $1
invested ($300 to $450 savings per worker per year). Goetzel says, however, that these returns are not typically realized until two to three years into the Corporate Health Promotion Program.
Advantages of Wellness Progams: Tax Breaks
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has been an outspoken proponent in seeking legislative solutions for a strained healthcare system.
“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping workers after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy workers healthy,” he says.
Harkin introduced the Healthy Lifestyle and Prevention (HeLP) America Act of 2004. One of the initiatives under Title II – Healthier Communities and Workplaces, provides tax credits to corporations that offer broad-based programs to promote worker health and grants for small corporation.
Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started
Implementing a Corporate Health Promotion Programs can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.
• Provide incentives for participation.
• Start a wellness informational campaign.
• Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, physical fitness and cholesterol.
• Start initiatives such as fitness, sleep diary, smoking cessation and injury prevention.
• Provide onsite chair massages or simple stretching exercises to do at the desk.
• Alter snack machine options to offer healthier, low-fat snacks and drinks.
• Actively promote worker participation in all Corporate Health Promotion Programs.
A successful Company Wellness Program can boost corporation morale, enhance productivity, reduce organizational conflict, attract superior workers and reduce the rate of worker turnover. The case for starting a Company Wellness Program is well worth the effort.