Mark Schnitzer, M.D.
Wellness Consultant

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Introduction:  Research shows that many health problems can be avoided through diet and exercise. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis report The Cost of Preventable Illness, obesity related health problems cost American businesses an estimated $13 billion in 1994 – $8 billion in health insurance costs, $2.4 billion for sick leave, $1.8 billion for life insurance and nearly $1 billion for disability insurance. The risk of developing many serious and costly medical conditions, including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, infertility and many forms of cancer, may be prevented through effective weight management.

Wellness initiatives at Jackson Kelly are designed to create a process toward better health and living. For instance, paralegals at the firm share and comment on “live foods” recipes. The firm's weight management program includes participation in the “100 Miles in 100 Days” walking challenge. Participating employees are encouraged to accumulate 100 miles by walking, jogging, rollerblading or stair climbing. “It does not matter how you log the 100 miles, just that you do it,” says Gidle, the firm's Morgantown office manager. Currently 150 Jackson Kelly staff and attorneys are accumulating miles.
 

According to David Hunnicutt, president of WELCOA, “Presently, with respect to exercise, less than 25 percent of the population is currently physically active. What is more, 2/3 of the population is considered overweight and/or obese and 22 percent of the population uses tobacco products.”
 

 Seven steps to workplace wellness: 
Whatever the size of your company, and whether or not you offer health benefits, it's possible to reap bottom-line benefits from a wellness plan without putting into place a multi-tiered program like the one that has evolved at Highsmith. It's probably easier and less expensive than you think.

WELCOA's Hunnicutt urges adopting a plan that focuses on results rather than activities. Employee participation in a "smoke out" or fun run may boost short-term awareness of good health, but generally does not have a long-term impact.

If you seek real improvement, you need to set goals and devise a reasonable strategy for achieving them. With that in mind, Hunnicutt offers the following seven-step program. Visit the WELCOA Web site (www.welcoa.org) to find the resources you need to carry out your own plan.

1. Secure the support of top management.
Any meaningful change will be driven from the top. In this vein, Herman recalls that the first wellness effort at Highsmith involved him and the chief executive officer leading the mostly female staff in lunchroom aerobics.

2. Appoint a wellness team to oversee the effort. At a small company, this might be a single individual, perhaps even the boss.

3. Collect some form of data. "You can't change what you can't measure," Hunnicutt says. Data collection can run the gamut from having employees participate in health screenings (an online version can cost as little as $8 an employee; a blood workup is about $30 per head) to weighing the workforce on a grain elevator scale to establish a weight-loss benchmark.

4. Create a simple plan and set simple goals. If excess weight is identified as a primary concern, for instance, the wellness team might say, "In 12 weeks, we're going to lose 500 pounds as a company."

5. Choose the appropriate intervention. This could be anything from providing information on healthy eating to promoting exercise as part of an employee's daily schedule.

6. Create a supportive environment. If, for example, you want your employees to exercise more, make it easier for them to do it during the workday. Consider designating or building walking trails around your company grounds, or providing shower facilities so employees can clean up after bicycling to work.

7. Carefully evaluate outcomes. If the desired result isn't being achieved, it may be necessary to change the intervention or make the environment even more supportive.

''The secret of health care is not passing along costs to employees. The secret is asking employees to take control of their health,'' says Howard Leach, human resources manager for Logan Aluminum in Russellville, Ky., where workers get an additional $200 a year for voluntarily filling out a health risk assessment.

Employers say the efforts pay off. Johnson & Johnson, for example, estimates
saving $8.5 million annually since it began its wellness program. A pipe
foundry in Birmingham, Ala., is anticipating $1 million in savings over five
years.
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