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Convinced a recession is here or near, many chief financial officers are examining ways to temper their company’s budgets, spending and hiring. According to a survey released by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business in March 2008, 41 percent of CFOs said they think the U.S. is currently in a recession, while another third think it’s likely to go into a recession in the next six months. Only 18 percent said they did not expect the U.S. to go into a recession in 2008. Despite fears about the U.S. economy, our sources show Fortune 500 companies remain committed to invest in health management programs that help them create a healthy, productive workforce—which is what we partner with clients to deliver through a 21st Century Health Benefit Design. Using a 21st Century Benefit Design, we provide clients with tools that support a culture of health—instead of a culture of sickness that needs to be treated. And through this approach, our clients realize value on their investment by reducing health risk for chronic illness, promoting better health and productivity among the entire employee population, and cutting costs that threaten corporate competitiveness. In today’s dynamic global marketplace, employers cannot afford to be complacent about the impact of rising health care costs on their future viability and profit margins. Add the costs of presenteeism and absenteeism into the mix and it’s evident why employers remain committed to health management programs to steer their company ahead of competition—even when economic data points to a recession. To ensure our clients pay for performance, we are strengthening our solutions that provide the integrated health benefit design employers are moving toward. We recently added Jim Reynolds as chief medical officer and John Griffin as chief operations officer to continue expanding our technology capabilities and enhancing the medical oversight of all our programs and services. We also have a number of initiatives underway to establish a more robust return on investment methodology to meet market demand and a more robust internal reporting dashboard to gauge how our solutions deliver results for clients. As always, we look forward to continuing to serve as your trusted health advisor, helping you enhance employee health and improve your bottom line during the current economic climate—and beyond. Yours in good health,
Gregg Lehman Inside HealthFitness With today’s alarming obesity rate at 34 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and over, the prevention of obesity ranks as one of the top public health priorities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. To support individuals in transforming the way they approach weight management, HealthFitness launched Your Weigh…Together, a three-month group weight management program, in 2005. To deliver this high-impact program, Your Weigh…Together requires HealthFitness on-site dedicated staff. Tanja Madsen, program development director, and Sharon Kordik, program development manager, led a HealthFitness team to create the program, which is designed for individuals who seek group and individualized support to adopt a healthy lifestyle and a sound approach to caloric consumption and exercise. Madsen is a certified health education specialist and brings more than 20 years of account services experience. She recently was a key contributor to the development of HealthFitness’ EMPOWERED™ Health Coaching, which integrates individual coaching with the Web and telephone. Kordik has a master of science in exercise physiology and brings more than 21 years of experience in the corporate health and fitness industry. Kordik previously implemented national health and fitness initiatives for Allstate’s 35,000 employees. “From our years of experience in the field, we saw that standard behavior change programs—where people are simply told what to do—weren’t working,” Madsen said. “This is why when we developed Your Weigh…Together, we decided to apply a different approach and include elements of coaching, where we get to the root of participants’ choices and empower them to change.” Other differentiators of Your Weigh…Together include: • It addresses the gap between knowing what to do and doing it through developing personal commitment, using effective tools and incorporating healthy habits into daily life. • HealthFitness’ Research, Development and Outcomes group periodically reviews and updates the program, applying current behavioral theories and insights. • It is taught by health professionals who bring extensive backgrounds in health and wellness. And to ensure we provide consistent quality in the delivery of Your Weigh…Together, HealthFitness on-site leaders are required to complete training and coursework taught by our dedicated team of master trainers. HealthFitness’ master trainers include Fran Scott, who has more than 15 years of experience in the health and fitness field and a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and Kimberly Diamond, who has more than 19 years’ experience in corporate health and fitness and a master’s degree in human nutrition. In 2007, HealthFitness had 42 sites participate in the program, losing a total of 10,000 pounds. The average weight loss per participant was 14.8 pounds. Thirty-two percent of participants reduced their body weight by at least 5 percent. To learn more about implementing Your Weigh…Together at your site, contact your program manager. Industry Insights Highlights discussed at the conference included results from a 2008 Deloitte and Touche Health Care Consumer Survey, which identified the following trends: • 83 percent express interest in participating in a wellness program offered by their employer, insurance company or health plan that would entitle them to reduced premiums or lower co-pays • 61 percent of consumers want tools that would provide personalized recommendations to improve their health and 55 percent of consumers are interested in tools that would help them assess, monitor or manage their health • 53 percent of consumers are interested in using a health/lifestyle coach (5 percent would pay extra for one) The American Journal of Health Promotion held the conference in conjunction with the International Health, Racquet & Sportclub Association. Conference Highlights Need for C-suite Involvement in Health Care Marketplace At the conference, participants learned the latest on consumer-driven health care, evidence-based benefit design, leveraging data for benefit design and employee communication, health reform, workforce health management, and more. During the conference, Craig Barrett, chairman of the board of Intel Corp., delivered a keynote speech that encouraged employers to use their purchasing power to ensure the health care system delivers quality care, medical records and electronic communication. “In no other part of our business would we just sit there and say, ‘8 percent to 10 percent inflation, that’s OK. I am not going to do anything about it. But not only that, I am purchasing services that are substandard.’ Collectively, we can make a change,” he said. Barrett supports the creation of a system that moves away from a fee-from-service model with physicians to a pay-for-performance model. He also advocates that employees should have access to personal, portable health records, paid by their employer, and remote/distant monitoring for health conditions, rather than requiring on-site doctor visits. The National Business Group on Health is a nonprofit that represents large employers on national health policy issues and provides solutions to its members’ health care problems. The Buzz from Recent Research Whole Grains Can Help Deflate Belly Rolls After 12 weeks of cutting calories, all study participants lost an average of eight to 11 pounds. However, the average CRP level dropped by 38 percent in the whole-grain group and remained unchanged in the refined-grain group. The whole-grain group also lost more fat in the abdominal area. Experts currently recommend eating whole grains, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole-wheat bread, in place of refined grains, like white bread and products made from white flour. Researchers believe the higher nutrient and dietary fiber content might explain the reason for the added health benefits in participants who ate more whole grains. Fiber-rich foods may have kept blood sugar levels more stable throughout the day, which may have lowered their CRP levels. Link Exists Between Insulin, Exercise and Breast Cancer Recurrence Insulin levels tie to modestly elevated rates of breast cancer incidence. Recent data also suggest that breast cancer survivors who have high insulin levels have a markedly increased risk for disease recurrence when compared to breast cancer survivors with low insulin levels. The study looked at 101 breast cancer survivors with body mass indexes of 25 or more (clinically overweight to obese). Part of the group was randomly assigned to participate in a mixed strength training and cardio-aerobic exercise routine. The balance received “usual care.” At the end of 16 weeks, insulin levels in the exercise group were an average of 28 percent lower. Insulin levels were essentially unchanged in the usual care group. Best-in-Class Practices and Awards Not only are employees generally more healthy and productive when they have a chance to exercise regularly, but there are other pluses for companies, particularly employee retention. Offering free or affordable fitness benefits can be a powerful marketing tool to find and retain quality employees. At IBM’s Raleigh, N.C., site, HealthFitness provides fitness management services for the company’s 22,000-square-foot fitness center. These services include fitness assessments, personal training, group exercise programs and a variety of other services to engage IBM’s total population in physical activity to move them toward optimal health. For IBM employees such as Benjamin Clark, IBM’s fitness center plays a critical role in helping them achieve their health and wellness goals—and improve their quality of life. When Clark started working at IBM in June 2004, he weighed 265 pounds and had a 42-inch waist. “I was on what most certainly was a slippery slope to an early grave,” Clark said. “Since I joined IBM, I’ve lost 90 pounds and am now definitely in the best shape of my life. I can tie a lot of that to the time I have spent at the IBM club since I began working here. The facility, the enthusiasm and helpful nature of the staff, and the fitness programs you provide leave no excuse for anybody on campus to not be in shape. I consider the IBM club one of the top benefits of being an employee here.” HealthFitness provides fitness management services to more than 400 fitness centers across the nation and around the world. To learn more about our on–site fitness management services, please visit our Website at www.hfit.com. Learn How to Effect Change Through a Culture of Health In “Employee Health Promotion Strategies: Effecting Change through a Culture of Health,” HealthFitness President and CEO Gregg Lehman details the process and challenges of creating a corporate culture of health and the payoffs in improved worker health and safety that can result. To describe how one company overcame a “benefit entitlement mentality,” Lehman is joined by Eastman Chemical Company’s David Sensibaugh, who chronicles the development of a culture of health at Eastman Chemical and how this attitudinal shift has impacted the health and welfare of Eastman Chemical's 3,000 shift workers. Order your copy of “Employee Health Promotion Strategies: Effecting Change through a Culture of Health,” and learn effective strategies your organization can use to engage the C-suite in health culture creation and move management from communication to commitment. For more information or to order your copy, visit Obtain Recognition for Driving Business Results—We’ll Help! HealthFitness can partner with you to craft your award application. Contact your program manager to learn more. Deadline for submissions is April 18, 2008. Visit http://www.workforce.com/global/optimas.php for additional information. |
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