Developing Wellness Initiatives

The cost of insurance premiums and employee medical claims is at an all-time high. And changes outlined in the Affordable Care Act will have a financial impact for patients and employers.

If you really want to get a handle on your healthcare costs, control medical claims, and improve the health of your workforce, you've got to establish some priorities. You can get started by asking a few questions:

Which health programs or topics should your wellness program focus on?

You can figure out your focus by reviewing the Personal Wellness Profile (PWP) Group Report. This administrative report will help you identify your organization's biggest health needs. And it's a good idea to look at this data at least once a year.

What do my participants want to change in their lives?

Your PWP Group Report includes a summary of employee health interests. This gives you some insight into what your participants are most interested in. Maybe it's blood pressure control, diabetes prevention, or weight loss. When you take a closer look at what they're interested in learning more about, you can tailor educational programs and interventions to meet their specific interests.

What health risks are trending on a national level that might impact my participants?

Look at the top 10 causes of preventable mortality in the United States. A recent health journal published the list, and it is very enlightening. For example, about 395,000 people in the United States die each year from high blood pressure, which is entirely preventable by choosing a healthier lifestyle.

The 10 lifestyle factors linked most closely to preventing serious diseases are:

• Quitting smoking
• Lowering high blood pressure
• Losing excess weight
• Being physically active
• Lowering high blood sugar
• Lowering high cholesterol
• Reducing daily salt/sodium intake
• Choosing healthy fats in place of saturated and trans fats
• Limiting alcohol
• Eating more fruits and vegetables

Based on this approach to preventive healthcare, you can offer training, workshops, and programming about how to prevent these chronic diseases. These same health problems are closely linked to high healthcare costs.

What programs or interventions do I have in place to help people with these priority health issues?

You may want to use these priority health insights to plan monthly or quarterly wellness campaigns around each issue.

• Include articles on the chosen topic in company newsletters and emails. Use the WellNotes® monthly newsletter, Health Challenges and Online Wellness Center as a resource.
• Focus on one behavioral change per month.
• Invite speakers to make special presentations to your participants.
• Look for online interventions and resources your participants can use for making positive changes. Plan incentives around these priorities.

If you do this quarterly, you'll be able to develop health campaigns that get results.

Build a better program

Once you've identified your wellness priorities, you can build a better program.

Look for ways of incorporating these principles into your corporate culture (such as making changes to company cafeteria foods, offering flex time for exercise, and offering incentives for reaching wellness goals). Or arrange screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol checks.

By emphasizing these priority health issues, you'll be making the biggest possible impact on the major health conditions linked to serious illness and high healthcare costs for your organization.