Advantages of Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Easy to Find
Employer’s are learning that Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives is an effective way to increase productivity, improve staff member health, lower health care costs and reduce rates of absence.
A report published in 2003 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for companies to incorporate Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives as part of their business strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on business, including lower productivity and higher health insurance costs.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that $1.66 trillion was spent on health 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 United States could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, exercise, cancer screening and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives initiative serves the best interests of workers and companies alike.
Advantages of Wellness Progams: Return On Investment
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 staff member per year in Corporate Health Promotion Programs, an employer can expect an average ROI of approximately $3 for every $1
invested ($300 to $450 savings per staff member 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 health care system.
“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping employees after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy employees 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 companies that offer broad-based programs to promote staff member health and grants for small business.
Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started
Implementing a Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.
• Offer incentives for participation.
• Establish a wellness informational campaign.
• Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, exercise and cholesterol.
• Establish initiatives such as fitness, sleep diary, smoking cessation and injury prevention.
• Offer 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 staff member participation in all Corporate Health Promotion Programs.
A successful Company Health and Wellness Program can boost business morale, enhance productivity, reduce organizational conflict, attract superior workers and lower the rate of staff member turnover. The case for establishing a Company Health and Wellness Program is well worth the effort.
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