2011 C. Everett Koop National Health Award Honors Employee Wellness Champions

Aug. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Healthcare budgets are already tight, but according to the National Business Group on Health (www.businessgrouphealth.org/index.cfm), average costs will increase by 7% in 2011 compared to 6% in 2010. So employers continue to face the dual challenge of spiraling healthcare costs and an increasingly unhealthy workforce — conditions that place substantial financial pressure not only on the business, but on employees and their families.  

About one-third of US adults are obese, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#National) — a dramatic increase over the past 20 years. And in 2010, 1.9 million US adults over age 20 received a new diagnosis of diabetes. Heart disease remains the number one killer of both men and women — and approximately 34% meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome, the clinical precursor to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Many healthcare cost drivers — like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers — can be prevented with healthy lifestyle habits, including regular physical activity, good nutrition, stress management, and adequate sleep. The challenge for employers is getting workers and covered family members to make sustainable changes in their everyday lives — changes that, over time, add up to better health, more energy, higher productivity, and significant cost savings.

The Health Project (www.sph.emory.edu/healthproject/index.html) is a private-public organization focused on “seeking out, evaluating, promoting, and distributing programs with demonstrated effectiveness in influencing personal health habits and the cost-effective use of healthcare services.” The resulting information is shared with businesses and community agencies with the goal of improving nationwide health outcomes. The C. Everett Koop National Health Award (www.sph.emory.edu/healthproject/awards/index.html) embodies The Health Project’s mission — recognizing programs that deliver documented health improvement and cost savings.

Corporate wellness programs with social support, challenging goals, and fun themes are keys to maximizing participation and success, and these elements are built in to every Health Enhancement Systems (http://www.HealthEnhancementSystems.com/) campaign. The company has been creating effective and engaging worksite wellness solutions for corporations, health plans, health systems, hospitals, government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofits, and other groups since 1992. A respected leader in this field, Health Enhancement Systems supports The Health Project. As a proud sponsor of the 2011 C. Everett Koop National Health Award, Health Enhancement Systems salutes this year’s winners (www.thehealthproject.com/past_winners/index.html):

 *   Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth TX
 *   Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport TN
 *   Prudential Financial, Inc., Newark NJ.

“Creating a corporate culture of health requires visionary leadership, support from all management levels, and a long-term commitment to employee well-being,” notes Dean Witherspoon, CEO and founder of Health Enhancement Systems. “Simply feeding employees health information doesn’t work — they need social support for changing health behaviors, meaningful goals, and engaging ways to participate in onsite wellness campaigns. This year’s award winners offer an inspiring look at comprehensive, integrated programs that get the job done — keeping healthy people healthy and helping employees reduce disease risks.”

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Health Enhancement Systems creates employee wellness programs for organizations in North America and throughout the world. More than 20 effective, engaging HES wellness campaigns have been adopted by over a thousand organizations — serving hundreds of thousands of participants successfully.

For more information about Health Enhancement Systems, visit http://www.HealthEnhancementSystems.com or call 800.326.2317.