Wellness plans, wellness programs and more…

A Wellness Program without goals and goals is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you won’t know where you’re going, how to get there, what you want to do once you’ve arrived, or even whether or not you’ve arrived!  

The trip may end up ok, or it might end up disastrously.  Yet, with a little thoughtful planning, you increase your chances for a successful experience.  Clear goals and goals are needed to plan your health promotion program to ensure success!

Wellness program goals and goals are different from one organization to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources. Notwithstanding, well thought out goals based on your corporation’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a successful wellness program!

Health Promotion Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Wellness Program.  The mission statement is the overall expression of what the Wellness Committee wants to accomplish by beginning a health promotion program.  

It is imperative that you consider how your Health Promotion Program fits in with the company mission statement, contributes to the overall mission and supports the company bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the company operations.  

Here are some examples of Health Promotion Program mission statements –  

At XYZ Business, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value. It’s the mission of the Health Promotion Program to assist in developing wellness services that fosters and upholds that value.

It’s the mission of the XYZ Wellness Committee to foster healthier lifestyle options to reduce health risk factors, improve overall well-being, and maintain a productive, active work force.

Wellness Program Goals

The objectives and objectives further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, upper management expectations and employee interests, examples of objectives can include –  

The goal(s) of XYZ Wellness Program in year XXXX is to –   (one or more of the following examples)

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per staff member

• Lower musculoskeletal injuries by 10%

• Decrease unnecessary emergency room visits

• Decrease or contain healthcare costs

• Improve dietary habits of employees

• Reduce health risk factors  

Health Promotion Program Objectives

Specific Wellness Program goals help meet your long-term goals and vision.  Both short term and long term goals should be created as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and mission.  

In addition to goals for the expected participant outcomes, process goals should also be developed for the wellness program process itself.  For example, process goals might include how many workers you want to participate in the wellness programs, how many sessions on a topic will be offered, the kind of wellness sessions that’ll be implemented, etc.

Goals need to be easily measurable within a set time frame. Attempt using the SMART formula to create both your long and short-term goals and goals –

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)

• Measurable (one result that may be observed or examined),

• Attainable (but also challenging),

• Realistic (do you’ve the resources to achieve?), and

• Time specific (within 3 months – up to 5 years)  

This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method.  For  instance, an objective for a weight reduction program that has an overall goal of improving healthful eating and promoting a healthful weight is that –  

Participants (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) after the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight reduction per participant (attainable and realistic).

Or –  

Participants (who) will attend 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier consuming change after the program (specific what, when, where)

An example of an objective for coaching workers with elevated cholesterol could  be –  

To reduce the sum cholesterol (specific what) of high risk personnel with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions offered at the worksite (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic and time specific when) to lower the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process objective for a smoking cessation program with an overall goal to assist participants in committing to quit for life –  

By the end of the 4-week use of tobacco cessation program, 10% of the participants will have quit use of tobacco.  Each participant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process objective) and 10% of those who quit will still be smoke free after one year.

You’ve now completed Steps 1 through 4, including establishing your Wellness Committee. It is now time to plan your wellness activities!

Before you start planning your Health Promotion Program you need to know where you’re now and then decide where you want to go.  Completing a thorough needs assessment is vital to the success of your wellness program for two reasons –  

• First it ensures that your wellness program activities will be targeted to meet your corporation’s specific needs so that outcomes may be achieved.  

• Secondly the needs assessment provides the information you’ll need to evaluate the effectiveness of your health promotion program.

It’s often tempting to rush the assessment – in particular when time is limited or those with experience already have an idea of needs. Don’t give in to this temptation!  

It is crucial to understand what your company needs are, what executive management expects, and what employees want in addition to expect, before you develop a health promotion program.  

Consider and gather data on –

• Demographic Information

• Health Risk Factors

• Medical Claims

• Injury Rates and Causes

• Workers’ Compensation Claims

• Short and Long Term Disability Claims

• Absenteeism

• Culture Audits

• Employee perceived needs and health risks

• Management expectations or desired outcomes

There are numerous ways to assess this information. Even though some of data collecting process may  be time eating, remember that it’s notwithstanding essential to plan health promotion programs that target specific issues.  

This information will be vital to set objectives and for reviewing  wellness program success. How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the health promotion program information –

• Confidential Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) with a Corporation Group Summary Report click here for additional information on Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) or Assessments

• Health Testings such as cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar click here for more information on medical screenings.

• Employee Needs and Interest Surveys

• Suggestion boxes placed around the business

• Focus Groups or hosting a luncheon meeting as a focus group

• Sending out a confidential email questionnaire

• Review records and databases including OSHA logs, first aid reports, insurance costs  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Wellness Committee can review the results and begin planning and prioritizing health promotion program choices.  

Planning must be based on goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!

Establishing an active Health Promotion Committee provides opportunities for both upper-level management and employee involvement in the wellness program.  The Committee ought to be a team of workers and managers who formally meet to plan activities to promote healthier employee lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Wellness Committee –

• Investigating needs and interests

• Brainstorming wellness program ideas

• Developing activities

• Developing communication plans

• Advertising health promotion programs to colleagues

• Serving as champions of the Wellness Programs

• Helping with investigation  

Your Health Promotion Committee ought to be representative of all levels of the business.  Consider all areas of the workforce – multiple sites, shift staff, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.  

It’s also crucial to consider who will chair or co-chair the Wellness Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a wellness manager or occupational health specialist, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for more information on the benefits of a health specialist.  

Depending on your business size and resources, if you already have a business Safety Committee you may want to consider making it the Safety and Health Promotion Committee.  You can request volunteers or invite workers to participate.  

The number of Health Promotion Committee members depends on the size of your company; nonetheless, you need enough members to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, usually a minimum of 4 members and maximum of 12 to 15 members.  

It is important to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those workforce already practicing healthful lifestyles.  

Depending on your workplace, consider representatives from the following areas –

• Staff Member representatives from a cross section of different departments,

• Senior level management ,

• Health and safety expert(s),

• Human resources specialist(s),

• Benefits staff or someone from finance,

• Your staff member assistance program (EAP) provider (if applicable), Click here for additional information on EAPs

• Medical or occupational health staff (if applicable).

Establish an effective Wellness Committee!  the Wellness Committee ought to meet regularly with a planned agenda and action items.  Successful Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and goals.  

Members need to believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is important, benefits the company and colleagues, and they are recognized for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for instances of what other organizations have implemented.

As with any health promotion program, the two vital elements for the success of your health promotion program are executive management support and worker involvement. Executive management sets the vision and provides the resources from which action plans flow.  

Genuine support from executive management also lends credibility to the health promotion program. It’s key that executive management be visible supporters and role models for your Wellness Program.

Employees need to be involved on several levels so that they feel ownership of the wellness program. Employees are the wellness program stakeholders!  

All workers should have an opportunity to provide input and feedback through needs and interest surveys and health promotion program examination tools.  The information gathered must be used to plan health promotion programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and support.

There are several methods to identify employee needs and interests such as –

• Conducting Staff Member Focus Groups

• Discussing Health Promotion Interests During Department Meetings

• Distributing and Summarizing a Needs and Interest Survey

• Including an Opportunity to Provide Suggestions on Each Investigation Tool  

Any one or combination of several techniques will ensure that the wellness program meets what employees want.  Click here for a sample Needs and Interest Survey.

Step 3 provides additional information on determining wellness program needs.  But first, establishing a Wellness Committee can help you involve upper-level management and staff members, determine need, and plan your wellness program.

Health Promotion Program Step 1 – Be certain to set the Foundation –  

Build Support Among All Levels of the Organization

A key to a successful Health Promotion Program requires management commitment and worker involvement.

Wellness Program Step 2 –  Form a Wellness Committee

An active Health Promotion Committee ensures employee involvement, provides buy-in, upper-level management support, and maintains a crew that is ready to take action to integrate wellness programs.

Wellness Program Step 3 –  Gather Data to Identify Key Needs and Expectations

The next critical component is to base the Wellness Program on the needs and interests of your business and its staff.

Health Promotion Program Step 4 –  Establish Goals and Objectives

Goals and goals are the road maps to guide you where your program needs to go.   These are the foundation for planning and analyzing  activities to ensure that your wellness program is going to meet your unique needs.

Health Promotion Program Step 5 – Develop a Detailed Action Plan

There’s no such thing as over planning!  the best of intentions can get lost, overstepped, or forgotten without adequate planning, and then it would be all for naught.

Health Promotion Program Step 6 – Pick and Implement a Plan

Armed with the needs assessment information, a Health Promotion Committee, and goals and goals, it is now time to put your plan into action!

Wellness Program Step 7 –  Monitor and Evaluate Your Wellness Program

Evaluation is a necessary step to keep a wellness program on target, as well as to ensure that the wellness program is reaching its objectives or achieving the desired results.

Summary

These Seven Steps outline considerations for a robust approach to establish an effective wellness program. Can you implement components of wellness activities without following these steps?  

Definitely, but you could not have the sustainability or ability to obtain desired outcomes.  Following the Seven Steps doesn’t have to be complicated or burdensome.  A very simple approach can achieve a successful health promotion program!

Consequently, to ensure a successful health promotion program consider the key components as you plan your health promotion program or improve your current health promotion program –

• Senior Management Support and Staff Member Involvement

• Active Health Promotion Committee

• Wellness Program is Based on Staff Member Needs and Interests

• Goals and Objectives are Established

• Detailed Action Plan Based on Resources and Budget

• Health Promotion Program Implementation and Internal Marketing

• Examination of Wellness Program Outcomes

The health promotion program design choices depend on the goals and desired outcomes of your health promotion program. If your goal is to help workers change behavior, reduce risk factors, or save healthcare dollars then your health promotion program would be designed to accomplish those outcomes and a budget would be necessary to support that design.  

There are different health promotion program design levels depending on desired outcomes and budgets.  Each level has advantages and disadvantages.  The intentions or results are quite different, aren’t interchangeable in terms of obtaining the same results, and thus shouldn’t be confused.  

For  instance, scheduling activities like an employee health fair or lunchtime education sessions, or having brochures available don’t normally lead to behavior change, but might increase awareness on a topic.  

If the goal is behavior change then a different design is required, like Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs and Organizational Support.  The outline below describes the wellness design levels with a brief explanation.

Awareness Programs –   at this level a corporation makes medical information available and accessible to workforce.  This type of health promotion program can include brochures on a selection of topics, wellness articles in newsletters, bulletin board displays, e-mail health messages, etc.  

Moreover, most health fairs are designed as awareness programs with providers providing information and providing health screenings to staff members.  

Awareness programs are low cost and don’t require comprehensive staff member or business time commitments. However, these health promotion programs don’t typically result in healthier behavior change.  

Increasing awareness isn’t usually enough to generate lifestyle changes for most person, unless used to motivate staff members to register for a wellness program being offered at the corporation or community on the topic.  

An example of this would be providing information on the harmful effects of use of tobacco and inviting employees who smoke to register for a use of tobacco cessation class.

Education Programs –   Educational health promotion programs often provide more information on a topic and can also provide time for questions and answers, but are similar to awareness health promotion programs.  An example is lunch-n-learn sessions on a health related topic.  

These cost the organization a little more than awareness programs; notwithstanding, they’re still low cost and do not require a excellent deal of time for planning or attending a session.  

Again, increasing awareness and providing information may not lead to the desired behavior modification unless ongoing support or incentives are also planned.

Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs –   These wellness programs are designed as 4 to 12 weekly sessions or seminars to provide wellness education, address barriers and provide opportunities to practice the desired skills.  

Behavior change programs accordingly require more company resources, cost more, and require more staff member commitment, time and effort.  The results are often the desired positive lifestyle change, which if sustained can lead to potential cost savings.  

Examples are tobacco use cessation classes, losing weight and weight control meetings, or an ongoing fitness program.

Environmental and Organizational Support –   Environmental support is often considered the highest and most essential level to include when designing your health promotion program in order to support and maintain healthful behaviors.  

These types of design options include policy changes like –

• Creating a smoke-free workplace

• Designating a walking path,

• Establishing on-site fitness centers,

• Ensuring healthy vending machine selections,

• Offering healthy food choices in the cafeteria, and/or

• Establishing flex-time policies.  

Other examples include subsidizing healthful vending machines or cafeteria choices; reimbursing fitness club or weight loss and weight control program memberships; or providing insurance incentives for healthful behaviors.

Ideally, the wellness program design would include some of all these options.  The more robust and integrated the approach, the more successful the results will be.  For example, a business can –

• have tobacco cessation information available;
• can schedule a one hour awareness session on the harmful effects of tobacco use and how to quit;
• can start an onsite smoking cessation program,
• supply self quit smoking kits, or
• support workforce to attend a community program; and/or
• on an environmental support level can establish a smoke-free worksite and grounds,
• offer lower insurance premiums for non-smokers, or
• provide pharmacological quit smoke aids for free.

Wellness Program –  Components for Success

There are a few key components or elements that should be considered to ensure the success of your Health Promotion Program or wellness program.  These include –  

• Upper Management Support and Employee Involvement

• Active Health Promotion Committee

• Program is Based on Employee Needs and Interests

• Goals and Objectives are Established

• Detailed Action Plan Based on Resources and Budget

• Program Implementation and Internal Marketing and Advertising

• Evaluation of Outcomes and Program

Major advantages of healthful workforce include –

• Lower Health Care Costs

• Decreased Injuries

• Decreased Absenteeism

• Improved Morale and Loyalty

• Higher Productivity

• Lowered Use of Health Care Benefits

• Decreased Workers’ Compensation / Disability

• Positive Perception in Community

• Reduced Turnover

• Increased recruitment for skilled employees

What’s NOT having a Health Promotion Program costing your business?  

Consider the health risk factors that are increasing chronic diseases for adults –

• 59 percent of adults are overweight or obese

• More than 60% of American adults don’t exercise regularly

• Greater than 75 percent of adults don’t consume the minimum recommendations for fruits and vegetables

• Heart disease is the most common cause of death and the leading cause of death in smokers

• 26 percent of workers announced they were often or very often burned out or stressed by their work  

Health Care Costs are Increasing –  Health Care costs are at a record high of $1.7 trillion with no signs of holding steady let alone decreasing.  The typical cost of annual healthcare spending is over $5,000 per individuals and with dependents nearly $10,000.  

Current data shows that healthcare related costs now cost North Carolina corporations thousands of dollars per worker, per year.

Most Illnesses can be Avoided –  Despite the fact that it sounds unbelievable, experts indicate that preventable disease makes up 60 percent – 70 percent of the entire burden of disease in the USA    

In North Carolina, it’s estimated that more than 53 percent of all deaths are preventable, and that 2/3 of all preventable deaths are due to tobacco use, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition.

Stress Levels are Increasing –   as corporation resources become less and businesses adopt leaner work practices, the effects of absenteeism and productivity lost have a greater impact.  

In a recent national poll, 78 percent of American Citizens described their jobs as stressful, and the majority felt that stress levels have become worse over the last 10 years. Furthermore, high levels of organizational stress can negatively affect a corporation by increasing injuries, absenteeism, and medical costs while decreasing productivity.  

Simple solutions like stress management education, flexible work schedules, quality social interaction, and increased participation in business decision-making can improve stress levels in the worksite.

What is the Upfront Cost and Time Investment for a Wellness Program?

The fee depends on the kind of Health Promotion Program implemented.  There are a few options to promote worker health with advantages and drawbacks of each.  The wellness program design depends on the goals of the wellness program, the corporation resources, and the community resources available.  

Improving dietary practices, increasing exercise levels, managing stress or addressing work life balance issues, and reducing/eliminating tobacco use, are main strategies for preventing many of the most common preventable chronic conditions.

The possibilities of how your organization addresses these issues are endless and can range from increasing employee awareness, which can include buying a few handouts on a variety of topics, and measuring walking distances around your facility.

Other possibilities include establishing organizational support like funding a fulltime occupational health expert or building an on-site fitness club.  

When well planned and based on your objectives, any of these health promotion programs can help you succeed.  Refer below to Health Promotion Program Design Choices for more ideas.

A Health Promotion Program is an organized wellness program to assist and support staff in establishing healthier life choices.  This can include increasing staff member awareness on health topics, scheduling behavior change programs, and/or establishing organization policies that support health-related goals.  

Programs and policies that promote increased exercise, use of tobacco prevention and cessation, and healthful food selections are several examples.  

Wellness Dimensions

Wellness is more than fitness.  In addition to fitness, the dimensions of optimal health include

• Spiritual Wellness Dimension

• Emotional Dimension of Wellness

• Social Wellness Dimension

• Intellectual Wellness Dimension

These Wellness Dimensions are often depicted as a “life wheel” with examples of health components that include –

• fitness,
• nutrition,
• purpose in life,
• financial planning,
• social connections and support systems,
• stress management,
• mind-body health,
• career planning and
• continued learning.  

The key for individual health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance.  A extensive health promotion program addresses most, when not all, of these dimensions.

Why Employee Wellness?

Workers spend a great deal of time on the job, and the fact is that our traditional work-week is increasing. In fact, the typical American now works about 47 hours per week.  

Plus, technologies such as modems, laptops, cellular phones, voice and email have blurred the work-life boundary.  These realities cut down on the amount of time that the average individual can devote to wellness pursuits, and yet personnel are expected to be at top performance when at work.

A recent study  by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that employee health promotion or health promotion programs are successful in assisting workforce make positive health changes due to several factors such as convenience, environmental support, and coworker or social acceptance.  

What’s the Link between Wellness and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that promote healthful behaviors may make a large difference on staff member wellness AND have an impact on the organization’s bottom line.   Studies have shown that for every dollar invested by businesss in company wellness/wellness programs, there were savings ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*.  

In organization terms, that is more than a 3 – 1 minimum return on investment – a number that is hard to ignore, and a best practice that should warrant serious consideration from corporations.  

In truth, a corporate wellness literature review posted in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal found –  

• 19 studies found a 28.3% reduction in sick time

• 16 studies demonstrated a 5.6 – 1 return on investment

• 23 showed a 26.1 percent reduction in healthcare costs

• 4 found a 30 percent reduction in direct medical and workers’ compensation claims

There’s little doubt that a extensive health promotion program targeted to meet a organization’s specific needs can reduce costs by reducing absenteeism, lowering healthcare expenditures, reducing staff member turnover, and increasing productivity.

• USA Department of Health and Human Services, 2003

Ten Steps Toward Strategic Wellness Programs

The Wellness Program management world is evolving rapidly. Each month, there are new research findings that support the premise that Wellness Programs and disease management (DM) have a long-term impact on health care costs.

Many big organizations that began Wellness Programs three to five years ago are showing savings in health, disability, and staff members compensation costs. Small to mid-size organizations are watching all this and wondering where to start with wellness.

Getting executive management support and budget approval is among the challenges at the starting of a Health Promotion Program. This is the case because Health Promotion Programs could be expensive, averaging $150-300 per employee a year in large companies.

Most of the savings aren’t realized for a number of years. This long-term investing is hard for corporations on the move.

The key to success for Wellness Programs is to take a strategic approach. Here are ten steps to consider when starting a Wellness Program.

1. Start with senior level management. Without senior level management support, a wellness strategy can fall flat. Start with the health of your executive team and discover your wellness champions at the top of the corporation.

2. Analyze the problem. Look at your healthcare claims and analyze the trends. Which conditions are driving your medical, disability, and workers’ compensation claims and which are modifiable? What’s worked and what has not thus far? What’s the long-term impact of doing nothing?

3. Hold an initial wellness meeting. Invite your key stakeholders both inside and outside the corporation. Ask your broker to facilitate the meeting and invite key health vendors including health, disability, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), fitness, and occupational nursing.

Review claims and utilization data and identify key areas of concern. Look at current offerings and see how they can be tailored to the needs of the population.

4. Consider both healthful and unhealthful employees. Since 85% of claims are normally attributed to 15% of claimants, it’s essential to reach those with the most costly conditions while also reaching people  who are at risk for developing preventable illnesses in the future.

Voluntary wellness programs like lunchtime wellness seminars miss many of the people  who need them most. Consider wellness programs that are population-wide or target intact workgroups. Wellness incentives help but do not motivate everybody.

5. Make sure to set short-term objectives for the wellness programs. Make sure to set some realistic short-term objectives based on your key areas of concern. Are there any plan design changes that could have an immediate impact on spending? Are there some programmatic actions that could have immediate results?

6. Find out what staff members are thinking. Hold some focus groups to determine where individuals  are with wellness. What is working? What isn’t? How much interest do individuals  have in the Health Promotion Programs? What obstacles and barriers are staff members experiencing when they attempt to change behavior?

7. Make certain you’ve a high-impact Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP). Your first wellness dollars ought to go into upgrading your Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP). A highly utilized Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP) can provide a foundation for all of your future wellness activities.

A good Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP) is a trusted link to the hearts and minds of staff.  At no additional cost, the Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP) can provide needed follow-up coaching and personal attention for staff who are working on modifiable health behaviors or involved in disease management programs.

Nutritionists, fitness, pregnancy, and stress management specialists are all part of a high-value Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP).

8. Be certain to set three to five year goals for healthcare savings and measure them. Get help from your broker and insurance carrier help you on long-term goals for your health, disability, and employees compensation plans.

Establish program metrics that will help you to measure Return On Investment. Go beyond participation rates, completion rates and program satisfaction. Measure changes in readiness, changes in behavior, and changes in risk factors. Establish rigorous methods to measure health care savings over the long term.

9. Make sure to set goals for organizational health. Consider the more intangible advantages of a wellness program and quantify them whenever possible. Include worker turnover rates, cost of new hires, worker morale, benefit satisfaction data, and business of choice issues in setting goals. Establish ways to measure success in these areas.

10. Add specifics to your short and long-term plan. Include a program strategy, a communication strategy, and an incentive strategy that’ll fit with your corporate culture. Focus on integration of related components along a health continuum with communications that are focused, simple, and human.

Establish a budget that includes key components like consumer education, wellness, health risk appraisals, and regular biometric screens.

Wellness Programs are critical to improving the health of our nations. Most adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, making it a excellent venue for promoting healthful habits.

The workplace organizational culture and environment are powerful influences on behavior and this needs to be put to use to assisting staff members to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Benefits to Wellness Programs include –  

• Weight reduction

• Improved physical fitness

• Improved stamina

• Lower amounts of stress

• Enhanced well-being, self-image and self-esteem

Corporations can also benefit from Wellness Programs. As reported by recent research, employers’ benefits are –

• Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthful employees

• Lowered health care costs

• Decreased rates of illness and injuries

• Decreased worker absenteeism

• Increased worker relations and morale

• Improved productivity

• Weight reduction

• Better physical fitness

• Better stamina

• Reduced amounts of stress

• Increased wellness, self-image and self-esteem

Corporations can also benefit from Wellness Programs. According to recent research, companys’ benefits are –

• Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy staff

• Lowered health care costs

• Decreased rates of disease and injuries

• Lowered staff member absenteeism

• Enhanced staff member relations and morale

• Improved productivity

A USA  Department of Health and Human Services report revealed that at workplaces with exercise programs as components of their Wellness Programs have –

• Decreased healthcare costs by 20 to 55%

• Lowered short-term sick time by six to 32 percent

• Enhanced productivity by two to 52 percent

Thanks to modern medicine, life expectancy for American Citizens has continually increased. Just how much we enjoy these additional years, however, depends greatly on how we have lived our lives.

When our quality of life is to remain high so that we can fully enjoy these extra years, we must practice good consuming habits, be active and refrain from using tobacco products.