Corporate Wellness ConsultantsCorporate Wellness Consultants and Corporate Wellness Programs

When it comes to working wellness into your workforce, you want someone who knows the ins and outs of health promotion, and who can counsel workers and provide primary care – all within the context of the current regulatory and legal environment.

AAOHN’s survey reported that more than half of workers (61%) want to receive health and wellness information from a medical professional, such as a consultant or an worksite occupational health nurse (OHN), compared to pamphlets or brochures (18%) or human resources staff (15%).

OHNs can develop, implement and evaluate components of work site Corporate Wellness Programs such as testing programs, exercise/fitness courses, Stress management, tobacco use cessation, nutrition and weight control programs, as well as chronic illness management programs. Plus, OHNs can help workers navigate through complicated health plans and may even serve as a triage point between workers and their personal medical providers.

Employees might refrain from seeing their medical provider when it means time away from work, inconvenient parking, waiting time in the office and co-pays. In situations where workers are under treatment for chronic diseases like heart disease, worksite nurses can routinely monitor risk factors such as blood pressure or cholesterol on a regular basis.

It’s often easier for an employee to ask an worksite nurse for information about symptoms or prescription medication than it is to schedule a follow-up visit to a personal medical provider. Benefits realized by employers include enhanced employee morale and retention, a recruitment advantage, increased productivity and decreased time away from work.

In companies with a safety department, the OHN can evaluate and address work-related health issues, including participation in workstation evaluations to correct potential ergonomic problems, and proactively addressing muscle strains by developing stretching programs and involving workers in leading stretches.

Workplace Obesity: The Facts

Workplace obesity has become one of the fastest growing health care problems in America. It is well known that America is considered one of the, if not “the”, heaviest countries in the world. This is largely in part due to fast food, un-healthy snacks and a very sedentary lifestyle. However, what many people are not aware of is that the rate of obesity in our country has doubled in the last 30 years and this weighs heavily on a company’s bottom line.

According to a new report from The Conference Board, Weights and Measures: What businesss Should Know about Obesity, obese workers cost private businesses an estimated $45 billion annually. Here are some of the report’s findings:

Obesity is associated with a 36% increase in spending on health care, more than smoking or problem drinking.
34% of adult Americans fit the definition of “obese”
Obesity related health problems are costing U.S. companies millions of dollars annually in medical expenditures and work loss.

Workplace Obesity: How businesses Can Help

With the increase in obesity and business costs associated with it, it is more and more imperative to establish a way to assist workers with their healthy living choices. Corporate Wellness Programs can help businesses help their workers. By providing assistance with Health Screening and Biometric Testing, Health Risk Appraisals and by conducting Corporate Wellness Program surveys; Corporate Wellness Programs allow the business non-invasive ways to communicate their concerns about their worker’s health.

We suggest establishing a Walking Corporate Wellness Program to assist your workers in meeting their weight-loss goals. Walking Wellness is a program designed to get your workers away from their desk and get them outside for a little exercise. Keep it fun by having contests, setting up weight-loss teams and having organized healthy picnics.