Working for wellness

Surveys say corporate wellness programs seem to be resurfacing as a health trend in 2012, but what exactly do they entail?

The initiatives seem to be as diverse as the companies themselves, often depending on the size of the business. Some have in-house programs tied to health insurance and financial incentives, while others have gyms in offices or work with fitness clubs for discounted group memberships.

Local experts say the common denominator concerning a commitment to wellness programs is leadership — whether those in charge realize on a personal level how better fitness can improve not only health, but morale, productivity and the bottom line, namely reducing absenteeism rates and health care costs.

The latter has been a subject of debate. The employee wellness “return on investment,” or the amount of money acompany calculates it gets back for every dollar it spends on wellness, still remains variable. And many of the return-on-investment studies tend to be by wellness companies themselves, which have a vested interest in showing that programs pay off. The Centers on Disease Control and Prevention estimates the ROI at between $3 and $6 for every dollar spent on employee wellness.

With the relative lack of objectivity, many leaders follow their subjective gut and launch experiments of their own.

Paid to be healthy

Locally, several recent efforts seem to show that employee wellness efforts are on the move again even as global economic woes remain in flux.

This week, Greystar, a Charleston-based apartment real estate company with 5,000 employees across the nation, is launching its first pilot program using Virgin HealthMiles, a subsidiary of Richard Branson’s venture capital organization, the Virgin Group.

Virgin HealthMiles provides pedometers to 1,000 employees to track the number of miles they walk or run on a daily basis. The pedometer links to a personal computer, which records the steps and calculates points. Another way to earn points is to show improvement in weight, blood pressure and body mass index via screening stations at certain Greystar offices.

Employees can receive up to $500 a year for earning 36,000 HealthMiles. But that’s not all Greystar is doing. It’s also working closely with its insurer, UnitedHealthcare, on diabetes prevention and management programs, smoking-

cessation assistance and 24-hour access to a nurse with expertise in pregnancy.

Bill Maddox, the chief operating officer for Greystar and an avid runner, says he expects “bugs in the system,” but that it will be fine-tuned. He says Greystar is committed to the program and doesn’t expect to see “substantial savings” for two or three years.

“Health care is not Barack Obama’s problem,” says Maddox. “It’s our problem.”

Hospitals as examples

Who hasn’t visited a hospital only to witness a significant number of its staff eating unhealthy food, being overweight or obese, or even smoking cigarettes?

The Medical University of South Carolina has taken some bold steps to have its staff and students set the example, namely by banning the use of tobacco anywhere on campus starting March 1.

It’s part of an initiative MUSC is taking in the Working Well program, a partnership between the S.C. Hospital Association and N.C. Prevention Partners, supported by the Duke Endowment, that is at work at hospitals across the state.

Dr. Susan Johnson, a former Duke University assistant professor, took over as employee wellness coordinator in September 2010 and, with the support of MUSC President Ray Greenberg, has evolved the position from one that puts on “feel-good programs” to one that brings “culture change” to a campus with 11,000 employees and three human resource departments.

The smoking ban, after all, wasn’t a breeze.

“We want to create an environment where making the healthy choice (is) the easy choice,” says Johnson, noting that she is focused on three major targets: improved physical activity, better nutrition and smoking cessation.

Branching out

While East Shore Athletic Club has courted local businesses to help with corporate wellness for years, the program grew to the point where the club hired a full-time staffer, Kate Wartner, last fall to manage it.

Wartner says East Shore, with 13 health club locations across the greater Charleston area, partners with about 100 local companies with five or more participating employees each for discounts on memberships and other wellness offerings. Some of the partners are as large as East Cooper Medical Center and the State Ports Authority and as small as Daniel Island Animal Hospital.

“I think they (companies) see the value of it (wellness) in the end,” says Wartner, noting lower health insurance costs, fewer sick days and a more motivated, energetic workforce. “It matters if the person who is in charge is into fitness or not.”

Building a team

Among the examples Wartner gave was John Wrenn, franchise owner of the Chick-fil-A in northern Mount Pleasant.

For more than a year, Wrenn has paid for a weekly workout, starting at 6 a.m. Thursdays, for a half-dozen members of his management team with trainer Jonnie Furmanchik at East Shore Athletic Club in Park West. Wrenn joins the team for a high-intensity workout.

While Wrenn says most already are fit, he thinks the weekly workouts are important for stress relief and bonding.

“This is a place where we can go, get away from the work site and bond as a group, in a different way,” says Wrenn. “I think it builds good relationships.”

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