High healthcare costs are a growing concern for American businesses, many of which are hit with double-digit premium increases each year. The major chronic conditions that account for high health claims, increased absenteeism, and lowered productivity are in large part preventable. For more than 15 years, Wellsource has been teaching business and health professionals how comprehensive wellness programs can minimize the enormous direct and indirect costs associated with poor employee health.
Today, the average annual health insurance premium is more than $5,000 for individual employees and nearly $14,000 for families. Rather than simply continuing to cut benefits or shift costs to employees, more companies today are starting worksite wellness programs as a way of controlling high healthcare costs. However, companies that do not provide comprehensive wellness programs generally will not see a positive ROI. Holding an annual health fair, hosting an occasional health class, or providing printed health information without follow-up are usually not enough by themselves to generate change or keep healthcare costs from climbing. To show savings from a wellness program, it is essential for a company to provide a well-run program starting with a health risk assessment and following up with comprehensive and effective interventions.
"A proactive wellness program identifies health risk factors and helps workers manage them before they become more costly and devastating to the person's health," comments Don Hall, DrPH, CHES, founder and board chair of Wellsource. "This is an effective way to reduce healthcare costs, improve productivity, and enhance employees' quality of life."
Many employers want to begin a wellness program, but need some assistance. Others want to breathe life into an existing program. Wellsource offers two-day workshops that demonstrate one of the most successful and systematic approaches to wellness and prevention in the industry.
The workshop – titled Worksite Wellness that Works! – is taught by seasoned wellness professionals and adjunct professors well versed in the latest models, strategies, and practices of successful wellness programs. The workshop builds the business case for wellness by reviewing the scientific research behind wellness programs, and explains the nuts and bolts of assessing employees' health, identifying at-risk individuals and groups, creating effective interventions, tracking progress, increasing participation, and measuring outcomes.
"This is an excellent workshop with experienced presenters, no commercial bias, and based on strong data from good studies," writes a recent attendee, James Ogletree, Partner, Health by Design.
The next workshop is May 16 and 17 in Chicago, Illinois. Attending Worksite Wellness That Works! qualifies attendees for 14 contact hours through the University of Oregon – Continuing Education Department.
Wellsource pioneered the concept of computer-assisted wellness. Today, more than 30 years later, our company continues to offer innovative products that improve lives and contribute to a healthy bottom line. It's no accident that Wellsource continues to be a premier provider of computerized health assessments and interventions.
