Posts from — December 2008

Flu Shot Facts & Myths

Myth: The flu isn’t a serious disease.
Fact: Influenza (flu) is a serious disease of the nose, throat, and lungs, and it can lead to pneumonia. Each year about 200,000 employees in the U.S. are hospitalized and about 36,000 employees die because of the flu. Most who die are 65 years and older. But small children less than 2 years old are as likely as those over 65 to have to go to the hospital because of the flu.

Myth: The flu shot can cause the flu.
Fact: The flu shot cannot cause the flu. Some employees get a little soreness or redness where they get the shot. It goes away in a day or two. Serious problems from the flu shot are very rare.

Myth: The flu shot does not work.
Fact: The majority of of the time the flu shot will prevent the flu. In scientific studies, the effectiveness of the flu shot has ranged from 70 percent to 90 percent when there is a good match between circulating viruses and those in the vaccine. Getting the vaccine is your best protection against this disease.

Myth: The side effects are worse than the flu.
Fact: The worst side effect you’re likely to get from a flu shot is a sore arm. The nasal mist flu vaccine might cause nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat and cough. The risk of a severe allergic reaction is less than 1 in 4 million.

Myth: Only older employees need a flu vaccine.
Fact: Children and adults with conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease need to get a flu shot. Doctors also recommend children 6 months and older get a flu shot every year until their 5th birthday.

Myth: You must get the flu vaccine before December.
Fact: Flu vaccine can be given before or during the flu season. The best time to get vaccinated is October or November. But you can get vaccinated in December or later.

For more information, ask your health care provider or call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).  You can also get more information about flu shots by visiting the following Website: www.cdc.gov/flu

Source: The Department of Health and Human ServicesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

Advantages of Corporate Wellness Programs: Easy to Find

Employer’s are learning that Corporate Wellness Programs is an effective way to increase productivity, improve staff member health, lower health care costs and reduce rates of absence.

A report published in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for organizations to incorporate Corporate Wellness Programs as part of their company strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on company, including lower productivity and higher medical insurance costs.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that $1.66 trillion was spent on healthcare in 2003 and it attributes a majority of those costs to chronic diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and asthma. Sadly, the money allocated for preventing or controlling these conditions is negligible.

In a recently published article, American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin reported two thirds of cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, physical fitness, cancer testing and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Corporate Wellness Programs initiative serves the best interests of staff members and organizations alike.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: ROI

Ron Goetzel, a nationally recognized expert in the science of health management, information analysis and applied research, said in a recently published interview that with an investment of $100 to $150 per staff member per year in Corporate Wellness Programs, an employer can expect an average return on investment (ROI) of approximately $3 for every $1
invested ($300 to $450 savings per staff member per year).  Goetzel says, however, that these returns are not typically found until two to three years into the Corporate Wellness Program.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Tax Breaks

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has been an outspoken proponent in seeking legislative solutions for a strained health care system.

“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping employees after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy employees healthy,” he says.

Harkin introduced the Healthy Lifestyle and Prevention (HeLP) America Act of 2004. One of the initiatives under Title II - Healthier Communities and Workplaces, provides tax credits to organizations that offer broad-based programs to promote staff member health and grants for small company.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started

Implementing a Corporate Wellness Programs can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.

• Offer incentives for participation.
• Start a wellness informational campaign.
• Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, physical fitness and cholesterol.
• Start initiatives such as fitness, sleep diary, smoking cessation and injury prevention.
• Offer onsite chair massages or simple stretching exercises to do at the desk.
• Change snack machine options to offer healthier, low-fat snacks and drinks.
• Actively promote staff member participation in all Corporate Wellness Programs.

A successful Worksite Wellness Program can boost company morale, enhance productivity, reduce organizational conflict, attract superior workers and lower the rate of staff member turnover. The case for establishing a Worksite Wellness Program is well worth the effort.

Technological and demographic transformations are changing the nature of work in our society. As these changes occur the broad-based model of Corporate Wellness Programs described above will evolve and continue to develop. If current trends continue, the workers of tomorrow will be older, more racially and ethically diverse, increasingly female, and will frequently be located off-site. In the later case, technological advances are making it possible for more and more consultants to conduct their work from their homes. Thus the very character of the worksite will change and so must our efforts to deliver Corporate Wellness Programs. As an example, in the future it is likely that a great deal of health education programming will be delivered through personalized interactive multimedia formats, conveniently supplied to any number of staff members through telecommunication systems.

As technological innovations increase in the workplace, Worksite Wellness Program consultants will face new health related challenges. In the past, some have assumed that technology would make workers more efficient, thereby allowing staff members to work less, while being more productive. In reality, increases in technological innovation have simply allowed more of us to take our work with us where ever we go and feel guilty for not being increasingly productive.

This trend may absorb increasingly greater amounts of leisure time that is normally devoted to relaxation and recreation. Subsequent increases in fatigue and stress will ensure the continued need for effective Corporate Wellness Programs.

When considering the scope of Corporate Wellness Programs described in this article, many will think of substantial investments made by large organizations. The reality is that 60 percent of individuals working in the U.S. work for a company of less than 100 staff members (U. S. Bureau of Census, 1988). Due to economy of scale, it has been difficult and expensive for small company owners to supply adequate health care insurance as well as prevention programming for workers.

Worksite Wellness Program consultants must understand this challenge and develop the method to overcome these obstacles. The proof is clear that much more could be done to advance the health of our society through the workplace. As change agents, health educators must work to empower organizations and staff members through education of the benefits of Corporate Wellness Programs.

Businesses do not exist in a vacuum. They are part and parcel of the community in which they are located. Successful corporate administrators are cognizant of the need for positive community relations and should do what is necessary to promote good will. What better way to bridge relationships than by utilizing existing community Worksite Wellness Program services and initiatives whenever possible (e.g., voluntary, private and public health agencies) and providing health related services back to the community. Since the community is also the home of the staff member, an effective mode of health promotion is through programming directed at the larger community. Sponsorship of community related health fairs is one example more are listed below.

• Encourages staff member/employer involvement in the community
Blood drives
Sponsorship of fund raising for community schools and social services
Community recycling initiatives
Youth league sports sponsorship
Job training initiatives
• Media and public relations initiatives advertising a healthy company image
• company newsletters and press releases on health issues to local media
• Environmentally sound use of waste disposal and community resources