Workplace Wellness

Healthcare Providers Lead by Example

By Kimberly Brook On Feb 25, 2014

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) laid down the law with new incentives in employee wellness, and New Jersey’s healthcare providers have embraced the challenge by providing a wealth of wellness programs designed to keep employees and community members healthy.

Beginning this year, the ACA expands employers’ ability to reward employees who meet health status goals by participating in wellness programs and increases the maximum reward available to participants in wellness programs to 30 percent of the total cost of coverage.

In the larger picture, employee wellness efforts can help increase productivity, reduce healthcare costs and create a more constructive and positive workplace environment.

“Promoting wellness in our workforce is a central part of reforming our healthcare system for the future,” says Belinda Cooper, New Jersey Hospital Association’s (NJHA) vice president of human resources. “We all need to work together to help individuals make lifestyle changes so they can better manage existing health conditions and perhaps prevent new ones from developing.”

New Jersey’s hospitals took the lead in this effort long before this year. According to a survey conducted by the NJHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust, 84 percent of the state’s hospitals now offer a wide array of employee wellness programs.

These programs include conventional screenings for chronic diseases with support and education for those at risk; exercise programs that include walking paths and calming murals in stairwells; reductions in copays for health insurance and medications; and onsite gardens that supply fresh fruits and vegetables for employee cafeterias.

In addition, more than 90 percent of these programs include: smoking cessation counseling and resources; 67 percent provide nutrition counseling; 75 percent have programs to help with weight management; and 72 percent offer biometric health screening.

According to data from the state Department of Health, New Jersey spent $2.2 billion on obesity-related healthcare in 2008. That spending is projected to climb to $9.3 billion by 2018 if the obesity trend is not reversed.

“These programs are not just about saving money; they are an opportunity for companies to demonstrate to their employees that they care about people. Healthy, happy employees will do their best work,” states Christine Stearns, vice president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

“Workplace wellness programs are becoming more widespread,” Stearns adds. “Small businesses are offering new perks to employees, but many still find it challenging to implement a program that works.”

NJHA has partnered with its members in a new web site, HYPERLINK “http://www.KeepNJHealthy.com” www.KeepNJHealthy.com, which provides valuable information for employees, employers and community members on hospitals’ wellness programs. Keep NJ Healthy offers a wealth of information, resources and links. Employees can search by hospital name to find health and wellness programs located in their area. And for employers, the site provides a valuable resource where they can share successful employee wellness programs with their peers and learn about the ACA’s new wellness incentives.

“This web site provides an excellent opportunity for showcasing how well the healthcare industry and individual healthcare employers take care of their employees as well as the patients and the communities they serve,” Cooper states.

Statistics from the New Jersey Department of Health show the critical need for this important work:

Almost 27 percent of New Jersey’s adults are obese.

If obesity rates continue to increase at their current pace, nearly half (48.6 percent) of New Jersey adults will be obese in 2030.

Less than half (47.5 percent ) of New Jersey adults engage in 30 or more minutes of moderate physical activity per day on five or more days per week.

One out of three (33.9 percent) New Jersey adults eats fruits less than once a day and one out of five (22.2 percent) eats vegetables less than once a day.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with New Jersey’s hospitals to make the Garden State a healthier place to live, work and play,” Cooper says. “This site showcases their efforts to date and, we hope, will encourage and support further development of employee wellness programming.”