Transcript How Healthy is Your Workforce

Wellness and Lifestyle:
A Win, Win, Win
Iowa Health Buyers Alliance Seminar
October 25, 2006
Kerry Juhl, Executive Director
Wellness Council of Iowa
515.223.2910 [email protected]
Optimal Health
“Optimal health is a
balance of emotional,
social, spiritual,
physical and
intellectual health.”
Source: American Journal of Health Promotion
The Wellness Continuum
How Healthy Are We?
• About 108 million people in the United States have at
least one chronic disease such as heart disease,
diabetes, asthma, hypertension, or osteoarthritis.
• Five chronic diseases (cancer, heart disease, stroke,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes)
cause more than 67% of all deaths each year
• Chronic disease is not just an issue among older
adults... 33% of the years of potential life lost before age
65 is due to chronic disease
Why Wellness = Win, Win, Win!
Six Reasons
Reason #1:
Our Citizens Are Not the Healthiest
• Almost 170 million Americans don’t get
enough daily physical activity.
• Approximately 42 million Americans
aren’t active at all.
• 64% of Americans are overweight or obese.
• Tobacco use continues to be popular even though
a leading cause of death.
• 75-90% of visits to primary care physicians are for
stress related conditions.
Most Costly Risk Factors
Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO)
(Percentage Differences In Average Annual Medical Expenditures For High-risk
Vs. Lower-risk Employees.)
Depression
70.2
High Stress
46.3
High Blood Glucose 34.8
Weight
21.4
Former Tobacco
19.7
Current Tobacco
14.5
High Blood Pressure 11.7
No Exercise
10.4
The Case for Low-Risk
Maintenance
“New evidence suggests that helping low-risk
employees (the majority of any employee
population) to maintain their low-risk health
status has the potential to generate a major
return on investment.”
D.W. Edington, PhD
University of Michigan Health Management Research Center
Reason #2:
Much Illness is Preventable
• As much as 70% of illness and the associated
costs are preventable.
• The leading causes of death in the U.S. are all
related to lifestyle, yet little is spent on prevention:
95% of health expenditures are for evident illness.
• 400,000 deaths from smoking annually
• 300,000 deaths from poor nutrition and inactivity
• 100,000 deaths from alcohol related causes
“Each year in the U.S., 1.7 million people die of
preventable chronic illnesses (like diabetes and
heart disease). There’s no bioterrorism attack that
would ever be that devastating.”
Tommy G. Thompson
Former Secretary, U.S. Health and Human
Services
Reason #3:
The Worksite is An Ideal Setting
• The majority of Americans work and spend
most of their waking hours at the worksite.
• Employers have a vested interest in healthrelated issues. They and their employees
are the primary purchasers of healthcare.
• Opportunity to partner: medical costs
consume both corporate profits and
employee paychecks.
Strategy for Change
• “The purpose of worksite wellness is not
to change people, but to change the
culture.”
» D.W. Edington, University of Michigan
Reason #4: Wellness Works!
• There have been over
125 health enhancement
research studies peer
reviewed and published
showing positive clinical,
behavioral and/or ROI
results.
Proof
• Does program participation have value? YES
Participation has a significant impact on health risk for low and
high risk employees (GM Lifestep, AJHP, 2001; J&J Pathways to
Change, J Occup. Environ. Med., 2002)
• What happens when risk status changes? HEALTH CARE
COSTS CHANGE
Largest increases in average cost occur when employees move
from low to high risk, greatest reductions in average cost occur
when employees move from high to low risk status (J Occup
Med., 1997)
• Does participation affect disability days and absenteeism?
YES
The more active participation, the greater the decrease in
disability days (Dupont, AJHP, 2001) and absenteeism (HWP,
AJHP, 2001)
Reason #5:
More and More Employers Are Doing It!
• 90% of U.S. companies sponsor at least one
health promotion activity.
• Innovative employers of all sizes and
industries are seeing the value of proactively
managing employee health and productivity:
Investing in Human Capital.
• Wellness links a benefits strategy with a
business strategy.
Reason #6:
Healthcare Costs Are (still) Causing Concern
• Health care expenditures topped $1.9 trillion (NCHC)
• Annual premiums for family coverage reached $10,880 in
2005, eclipsing the gross earnings for a full-time, minimum
wage worker ($10,712) (HRET)
• By 2017, it is estimated an employer will pay more in
health/benefits than for wages/salary. (NCHC)
• This year, Starbucks will pay more for employee health
insurance than they do for coffee (Starbucks)
• Experts contend that the only long-term solution to managing
costs is to keep people healthy.
A Window of Opportunity
• The cost of health care is beyond what
employers can afford and will increase
exponentially over the next decade.
• Employers don’t know what to do.
• An unprecedented opportunity to establish
the importance and effectiveness of optimal
health as an investment in human capital.
In Order To
Improve Health
And Contain
Costs, Worksite
Wellness
Programs Need
To Be Carefully
Designed
How do you build a
healthy workforce?
• Results-Oriented vs. Activity-Centered
– Activity-Centered: typically is short-lived and contributes little to
the bottom line
– Results-Oriented: success lies in constructing a firm foundation
and making a long-term commitment
• Worksite health initiatives must be based on business
outcomes
• Data collection is essential
The Seven Benchmarks
1.
Capturing Senior Level Support
2.
Creating Cohesive Teams
3.
Collecting Data
4.
Crafting an Operating Plan
5.
Choosing Appropriate
Interventions
6.
Creating Supportive
Environments
7.
Carefully Evaluating Outcomes
www.welcoa.org
20
Why Senior Level Support?
• It’s essential for the integration of health
promotion into the organization
• It’s necessary to secure financial resources
• It’s instrumental in implementing
supportive corporate policies
• It’s key to tying health promotion
objectives to business outcomes
• Benchmark #1
Well Workplace University© 2000
Wellness Councils of America
Role of The Wellness Team:
What does the wellness team do?
• Establishes vision
• Collects data
• Determines goals & objectives
• Sets realistic timelines & budgets
• Communicates results
• Oversees the wellness program
• Benchmark #2
Business Needs-Data
• Demographic
Information
• Health Risk Appraisals
• Health Screening
Data
• Medical Claims
•
•
•
•
Disability
Absenteeism
Facility Assessment
Culture Audits
• Benchmark #3
Well Workplace University© 2000
Wellness Councils of America
Why Plan?
• Forces you to consider your company’s needs,
and strategic priorities
• Legitimizes and communicates your program to
senior managers
• Gives your program continuity through personnel changes
• Provides energy to get your program moving
• Helps to stay focused.
• Benchmark #4
How Much Will it Cost?
In health promotion, we often invest too
little and expect too much.
“Investing $100-$150 per employee, per
year can generate $300-$450 ROI”
Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell
University Institute for Health and
Productivity Studies
Most Frequently Addressed
Programming Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Smoking Cessation
Physical Activity
Nutrition/Weight Control
Hypertension
Alcohol
Seatbelts
Mental Health
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Medical Self-care
Stress Management
Disease Management
Personal Finance
Immunization
Ergonomics
Work/Family
•
Benchmark #5
Five big ideas for transforming your
workplace into a supportive
environment:
• Friendly facilities
• Proactive policies
• Consistent recognition and rewards
for success
• Managers model and support
healthy behavior
• Ongoing health promotion program
• Benchmark #6
Common Targets of Evaluation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Participation rates
Participant satisfaction
Knowledge and skills
Reduced risk factors
Absenteeism rates
Workers compensation claims
Health care claims
Turnover and ability to attract new employees
• Benchmark #7
•Increased participation rates from 62% to 98%
•Absenteeism rates 28% less for wellness
participants vs. non-participants
•Tobacco use decreased from 21% to 8%
•Elevated cholesterol levels decreased from 50% to
37%
•Weight decreased from 66% being overweight to
41% overweight
The Seven Benchmarks
1.
Capturing Senior Level Support
2.
Creating Cohesive Teams
3.
Collecting Data
4.
Crafting an Operating Plan
5.
Choosing Appropriate
Interventions
6.
Creating Supportive
Environments
7.
Carefully Evaluating Outcomes
www.welcoa.org
30
Be Healthy, Live Longer
Steven Aldana, PH.D.
People Who
Live an extra
Are vegetarian
1.5 years
Exercise regularly
2.4 years
Eat nuts five times a week
2.5 years
Have normal blood pressure 3.7 years
Are not diabetic
6.6 years
Maintain normal weight
11 years
8 Commandments for Living Long and Well
(Dr. Edward T. Creagan, M.D.)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Form stable long term relationships
Maintain ideal body weight
Eat a plant based diet
Engage in regular physical activity
Longevity does not allow for smoking
Use alcohol in moderation, if at all
Foster a sense of spirituality
Find meaning and purpose in life.
Wellness and Lifestyle:
A Win, Win, Win
By investing in worksite wellness:
• Employee WINS: reduced risk, healthier,
happier, longer lives
• Employer WINS: increased work performance,
reduced health care utilization, moderation of
costs, retention and recruitment
• Community WINS: reduced health risks, higher
quality of life, economic impact
“The function of protecting and
developing health must rank even
above that of restoring it when it
is impaired.”
Hippocrates