Kadalyst is excited to announce our new hiring campaign! We are looking for local passionate and innovative health & wellness providers who want an exciting career in “Workforce Health Management!” In this role, our health practitioners work as a “Care Team” and are able to engage employees on-site at their workplace to help them get healthier. As we build new “Care Teams,” we need experts from various fields, such as nursing, nutrition, fitness, public health and even health promotions.

Our new job posting is on Craigslist, and we welcome any referrals within your network who are health professionals to apply: Workforce Care Coordinator

This morning, we had the amazing opportunity to be part of a “breakout session” with Providence Medical Group, to discuss “Medical Home ROI in the Workplace.” Below is an article  that was sent out earlier today via the Colombian Business Today E-Newsletter.

Participants in the main forum included, PeaceHealth and Southwest Washington Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, and Legacy Health Systems.

New health care model presented as way for businesses to save money

A new model of personalized health care being adopted by some of Clark County’s largest medical providers could help local businesses save money on employee health plans, according to a panel of physicians that presented at a Community Choices health forum in Vancouver today. PeaceHealth and Southwest Washington Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health Systems and Providence Medical Group are all experimenting with a “patient-centered” model in which all a patient’s needs are met in one place, also known as their “medical home.”

The model is essentially high-functioning primary care, focused on prevention and easy access to providers, such as same-day appointments and secure email.  Patients end up having more contact with their “medical home,” but fewer costly procedures over the long run, according to the panel. Cost savings also come from a team-based approach, in which nurses and medical assistants perform routine exams and basic procedures and doctors take on more complicated and specialized tasks.

“It will be a better investment of health care dollars, and in the private sector that money comes from businesses,” said Dr. Joe Siemienczuk, chief executive of Providence Medical Group in Portland. “It can also provide a healthy workforce that’s more productive, mitigating time loss.” Source: The Columbian,  (www.columbian.com) 6/21/2001

Strategies To Reduce Business Benefit Costs

➤➤ Assess current health insurance plans
➤➤ Evaluate or consider offering “voluntary” benefit options
➤➤ Examine pension offerings
➤➤ Consider adding a Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) option
➤➤ Target wellness program financial incentives

Strategies To Increase Employee Financial Well-Being

➤➤ Implement focused personal finance education
➤➤ Create savvy employees involving big-ticket purchases
➤➤ Enlist employee input on best “personal finance” practices
➤➤ Distribute objective personal finance materials to boost employee financial wellness
➤➤ Incorporate “financial wellness” into your employee wellness programming

For the full WELCOA report and a FREE Monthly Cash Flow Budget/Worksheet, click here: Financial Wellness

20 Simple Program-Marketing Tips for Wellness Practitioners

Thanks to infomercials, over-the-top pitchmen and get rich-quick schemes, the art of marketing has inherited a somewhat slippery reputation. So, it’s only natural that some wellness practitioners might feel a little uneasy when it comes to marketing internal wellness programs. The fact that most wellness coordinators aren’t formally trained in marketing only adds to the apprehension. But that being said, marketing is and always will be a big part of making programs successful—it simply can’t be ignored.

Thankfully, there are some proven, simple steps you can take to promote your programs without over-extending yourself. The remainder of this article will walk you through 20 straightforward strategies that you can immediately incorporate to promote your wellness initiatives as easily as possible.

When Marketing Internal Wellness Programs, Remember…

First—what you’re marketing has strictly pure intentions: to improve the health and well-being of others. We’re not promoting a flimsy product or service to benefit ourselves; quite the contrary! This should make you feel extremely confident and proud—not only about your profession, but also about what you’re promoting.

Second—you don’t have to be a marketing genius to effectively promote your programs. There are lots of resources available to help you. The complete WELCOA article will show you 20 simple strategies to help you engage participants and successfully market your wellness initiatives.

Complete WELCOA article: Health Promotion

Implementing a Stress Management Program

For health promotion practitioners, addressing and implementing stress management programs is no small task, nor one that should be taken lightly. The good news is that there are plenty of resources and strategies readily available at your fingertips. In most cases, you can help employees effectively cope with stress by providing basic education along with simple tips and tools.

Plain and simple, stress is just a part of life. In many circumstances, we can’t control when and how stress occurs. We can, however, control how we cope with it. To help employees manage stress, it’s critical to arm them with basic education and tools to identify their stress. Moreover, the best stress management programs should include both coping skills and relaxation techniques. Just remember that people need various options to address and let go of stress, as there isn’t any “one-size-fits-all” prescription for stress management programs.

Lastly, in addition to the suggestions in the attached article, there are several resources and strategies on stress management readily available, including free information at www.welcoa.org, and even a free stress management campaign for WELCOA members. The bottom line: don’t stress out about implementing your stress management program!

Complete WELCOA Article: Letting Go of Stress

Why Medical Self-Care Should Be A Vital Part Of Your Wellness Program

Reason #1
Health care expenditures are out of control and employers and employees are paying the majority of the costs.

Reason #2
Unnecessary utilization by employees and their families drives health care costs.

Reason #3
Many illnesses can be managed easily and effectively without medical intervention.

Reason #4
Medical self-care initiatives reduce unnecessary utilization, improve employee health and generate ROI.

Despite the healthiest of intentions (or the efforts of even the most aggressive wellness programs), people still get sick. Indeed, each year a significant percentage of employees and their families will experience health issues. Ranging from simple things like the common cold to more serious events like cancer, the fact of the matter is people get sick—even with workplace wellness programs in place. And, if the management of these illnesses are left unaddressed, the result can be costly both to the employer and the employee in terms of unnecessary health care utilization and lost productivity.

To address this very real predicament, organizations of all kinds are rapidly integrating medical self-care programs within their already-existing wellness initiatives—and the results are nothing short of remarkable. In a nutshell, workplace-based medical self-care initiatives help employees and their families make informed choices concerning the prevention, detection, initial treatment and follow-up of minor, self-limiting medical conditions. And within the context of any given workplace, a medical self-care initiative has the power to help employees not only manage their own health and health care but to become better and more responsible consumers of health care as well.

Read the full WELCOA article here: Complete Self-Care Article

Tobacco-free Indoors and Buffer Zone

Policy: Effective (date), smoking and/or tobacco use is not allowed anywhere indoors or within 50 feet of the buildings at (worksite name). Tobacco use is strictly prohibited within or immediately outside of the building(s), including offices, hallways, waiting rooms, restrooms, lunchrooms, elevators, meeting rooms, community areas, and entrances and exits to buildings. Breaks will be granted to all employees in accordance with state personnel policies. Smoking must be confined to these breaks (including meal break) and to the outside, designated smoking area only. This policy applies to all employees, clients, contractors and visitors. All individuals share in the responsibility for adhering  to and enforcing the policy. Any problems should be brought to the attention of the appropriate supervisor and handled through the normal chain of command.

Source: NC Worksite Wellness Toolkit

A smoker who quits could save his or her employer an estimated $1,429 in excess illness costs each year. Tobacco-free workplaces benefit both the employees and the employer. There are many benefits to employees and employers that accrue from having a tobacco-free workplace. North Carolina Health Smart has created an effective smoking cessation plan and we will post a few sample policies they have created. They are free to adopt and implement.

Tobacco-free Indoor and Vehicles

Policy: Effective (date), smoking and/or tobacco use is not allowed anywhere indoors at (worksite name) or in (worksite name) owned vehicles used by this work unit. Tobacco use is strictly prohibited within the building(s), including offices, hallways, waiting rooms, restrooms, lunchrooms, elevators, meeting rooms, community areas, and vehicles. Smoking must be confined to meal breaks and to the outside, designated smoking area only. This policy applies to all employees, clients, contractors and visitors. All individuals share in the responsibility for adhering to and enforcing the policy. Any problems should be brought to the attention of the appropriate supervisor and handled through the normal chain of command.

Check back for another sample policy!

Source: NC Worksite Wellness Toolkit

1. Set up walking clubs to walk before, during, or after lunch.
2. Make stairs user friendly, safe, and accessible (music in stairwell, slip guards, etc.).
3. Provide flex-time for exercising during the day.
4. Provide employees with the opportunity to take a 10-minute break to walk during the day.
5. Offer physical activity promotion classes at the worksite that cover the strategies listed above such as logging activity, goal setting, and enlisting social support.
6. Provide pedometers to encourage activity.
7. Distribute a newsletter with exercise tips and strategies.
8. Use bulletin boards, office mail, email, or paycheck stuffers to send physical activity messages.
9. Provide speakers that dispel common exercise myths and discuss the benefits of exercise or weight loss strategies.
10. Start an email based program that provides tips of the day and strategies for increasing activity.

Note: Remember, these are ideas that you can do on your own that provide education and maybe short term change; if you want to learn more on how to create longer lasting change read how to get employees active.

Source: 2009 Welcoa “Absolute Advantage “Get Active”

Approximately 60% – 70% of Americans are physically inactive and as most of us know already this can lead to several health risks such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. A lot of us have employees whose jobs require them to be sedentary for the majority of the day. The question is how do you get your employees moving?

The ideal solution is to engage employees one-on-one or in group settings and to target individuals who need the most help. However, because of HIPAA it makes it difficult for you to accomplish this by yourself unless you hire a 3rd party vendor such as a health management company or an independent contractor. Depending on the result you and your company want to achieve will determine what direction you should go.

If you want a program that is educational look in to your health plan or EAP; they sometimes have the option for a person to come onsite and give seminars.  Again, this is a great solution to provide education but don’t expect long-lasting changes; you will need to invest in an organizational health management program to accomplish this. Take some time and think about what issues you are faced with and what outcomes you would like to achieve. Check back later and we will post 10 ideas of what you can implement now to get your employees moving!