Houston SMB's Ask "Who Is Responsible?" for the Health and Wellness of Human Assets.

Nov. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- "It is far beyond a critical time where real community leaders must stand up and take deliberate and effective action to fix some of the issues that we face in our socio-economic climate.", says CEO Jay Davis.  "This is why we decided to develop and implement the Power In Numbers Economic Development Initiative".

Among the first issues addressed by this organization was healthcare.  Healthcare for small businesses, and employees of small businesses, is a major issue that goes effectively un-addressed by legislators.  Inspired by a conversation with a colleague where the question kept being asked "Who is responsible for the health and wellness of employees?", Jay Davis aptly entitled the strategy, developed by Power In Numbers Flagship Company, the "Who Is Responsible? - Health and Wellness Initiative".  This initiative is chaired by CRNA Ms. Janelle Thompson; who is also the owner of a local Houston, TX wellness center, "Epiphany Wellness" in Houston, TX.

This program provides a cost-free worksite wellness program for employers of all sizes and has been developed in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).  DSHS conducted a study that concluded that well designed programs experienced and average reduction of 25% in health-care costs, sick leave, disability costs, and workers’ compensation.  It also outlines exactly what those "well designed" programs look like!  This was the motivation for the Power In Numbers team to get creative and find out how to create a program that SMB/MWB enterprises could also (affordably) take advantage of.

Eduardo J. Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H. - Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services reports that "At least 50 percent of health-care expenditures are lifestyle-related, and therefore, potentially preventable. Yet despite the $5,000 an average employer spends on health care per employee each year, most employers are spending less than 5 percent of that on medical screenings and prevention."

Using the results of the most comprehensive meta-evaluation of worksite wellness programs (conducted by DSHS), "Who Is Responsible" built its worksite wellness program on the foundation of "Totally Free Health Screenings".  15 of Houston's most entrepreneurial minds have contributed to developing a cost effective way of rolling out and implementing this program on the foundation of "Totally Free Health Screenings", without the need for debt or government subsidization (which is effectively debt).

What is unique about this program, in addition to "Totally Free Health Screenings", is the aspect of being "expandable" to three (3) degrees of separation.  This means that the employer is the primary beneficiary, but can extend its benefits to all of its human assets (employees, contractors, suppliers/vendors, customers/clients, etc).  The human assets can extend their benefits another degree (employees to family members, and business entities to their human assets), and those beneficiaries can extend their benefits one more degree (family members of employees to other family members and associates, and human assets of 2nd tier business entities to their families).

Beneficiaries will still have to pay for any services rendered by a health practitioner beyond the comprehensive health screening and consultations; however the primary modality is preventive in nature, vice reactive due to the nature of preventive health having significantly lower costs than treatment.  The program also provides for some of the lowest (if not the lowest) preventive services available in the marketplace.  "We focus on prevention simply because it makes much more sense from both a health perspective and a financial perspective", Janelle Thompson informs us.  "The cost savings to employers associated with a program that is "prevention-centric" is just too tremendous to ignore; particularly when we have cut out one of the highest costs in the process (in the health screenings)." .

Since it is no cost the the employer,  "Who Is Responsible? - Worksite Wellness Program" is able to be an organization's primary worksite wellness solution or a supplement to an existing program.  The program provides primary care practitioners, nutritionists, spa-type services, as well as referrals to medical specialists.  Low cost preventive health treatments are the primary focus; however, it is as comprehensive as any world-class solution in existence, and by far the most cost effective alternative available.

"Right now, we are in the pre-launch phase of the program.  We are only rolling it out to key organizations who will serve as the "early adopters" and provide feedback so that we can refine our processes and become more efficient", board member Kirbie Speights informs us.  "After that, we will be rolling the platform out nationwide, alongside some of our other initiatives, beginning with our "Pay-It-Foward" Economic and Business Development tours that we will facilitate in partnership with nearly 2000 Chambers of Commerce nationwide.  The Power In Numbers Flagship Members will have an opportunity to share the strategies and expertise that has gone into the development of what we feel is the most powerful and innovative economic development program in history, with millions of businesses across the country.  We feel that this is going to be the ultimate key to turning around the economy for the better".

The entrepreneurs responsible for the "Who Is Responsible? - Health and Wellness Initiative" are:

1.  Ann E. Williams - Certified Public Accountant, Owner: Ann Williams, PC
2.  Dr. Bill Crawford, PhD - Author, Speaker/Trainer, Clinical Pshychologist
3.  Byron Hugley - Sales and Marketing Consultant, Owner: Painless Car Buying
4.  Cammie Cooper - Professional Photographer, Owner: Reflections Photography
5.  David Whitfield - Author, Professional and Personal Development Coach, Speaker/Trainer, Focused Marketing Consultant, Owner: Marketing and Business Dynamics
6.  Dan Valdez - Business Development Consultant, Speaker/Trainer, Owner: The Owner's Alliance
7.  Dante' Lee Davis - Graphic Designer, Owner: Creative Designs by Dante' Davis
8.  Dennis Bevers - Promotional Products Consultant and Procurement Specialist, Owner: BASSCO
9.  Janelle Thompson - CRNA, Primary Care Wellness Practitioner, Owner: Epiphany Wellness
10. Jay Davis - Author, Strategic Planner, Project Manager, Business Development Consultant, Economist, Owner: WRICO, Inc.
11. Kirbie Speights - Business Management Specialist, Executive Administrator, Owner: FIT 4 LIFE Development (Non-profit Athletic and Tutoring Organization)
12. Maria Flores - Product and Inventory Procurement Liason, Owner: BlackCAT Solutions
13. Nolen Davis - Videographer, Director, Producer, Owner: Worldlink Services
14. Randall Montalbano - Sales and Marketing Consultant, Owner: The Monmark Group, International
15. Stacey Scalf - Small Business Advocate, Hyper-local Marketing Consultant, Owner: Eat Katy

Member involvement in this particular initiative varies from expert consulting to strategics and implementation; however each one has played an integral and significant role in bringing this innovative program to life.  You can learn more about these (and other) founding members of the Power In Numbers Flagship Company by visiting their Houston, TX Economic Development Site.

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Power In Numbers is a Houston, TX based global economic development company focused on strengthening the economy utilizing collaborative strategies centered around improving the market share and profitability of small and medium sized businesses.