Archive for January, 2009
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on Injury Prevention
Preventing injuries is a high priority for employers, especially in factory settings such as Honda. That’s why the corporation offers several programs—including line-site process evaluations —to identify potential hazards and help reduce the chance of injury. As part of an early intervention program, Honda workers who are feeling pain can receive a massage of the [...]
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on Early Detection and Prevention:
Dr. Moore of Nationwide maintains that immunization is the most cost-effective treatment in medicine. For example, vaccinating children against the influenza virus averages a savings (including medical costs, parents’ missed work, etc.) of up to $35 per vaccine recipient. And experts predict that estimate is low, because it doesn’t take into account the rapid spread [...]
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on Stress Reduction
Benefits of Stress Reduction Programs
While stress cannot be eliminated from life, or even from the worksite, coping skills can be developed with relative ease. Stress management skills lead to reduced rates of absence and more effective, more productive workers. Because stress has been shown to contribute to such physical conditions as ulcers, high blood pressure [...]
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on Prenatal Care and Breastfeeding
Benefits of Prenatal Care and Breastfeeding
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is particularly relevant to when applied to preventive measures taken during pregnancy, when a few extra ounces of birth weight can save a child’s life. During pregnancy, simple precautions can help avoid catastrophic results; giving up tobacco [...]
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on tobacco use Cessation Programs
Benefits of tobacco use Cessation Programs
Instances of respiratory diseases, cancer and other illnesses can be reduced through tobacco use cessation efforts. tobacco use cessation programs can provide huge opportunities for improved health.
The American Cancer Society reports that tobacco use workers cost employers an average of $1,429 per smoker per year in increased medical costs over [...]
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on Nutrition Programs
Benefits of Nutrition Programs
Nutrition directly impacts nearly every aspect of physical and mental health. A healthy diet can help protect against such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, certain cancers and depression. Obesity, which is among the most common conditions linked to diet, affects a record number of Americans.
The American Journal of Health Promotion [...]
Corporate Wellness Programs: Focus on Exercise Initiatives
Benefits of Exercise Initiatives
Exercise reduces weight, lowers risks of heart attack and stroke, helps to control blood pressure and diabetes, and improves mood. Studies increasingly show that exercise may also help reduce the occurrence of certain types of cancer. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently documented another major advantage: exercise [...]
The Case for Corporate Wellness Plans
Wellness programming means different things to different employers. Effective wellness initiatives can be as simple as bringing baskets of fresh fruit into break rooms to encourage better eating. They can be as extensive as building fitness facilities onsite or paying for obesity treatments.
A driving factor behind the push toward wellness spans employers of all types, [...]
Wellness in the Workplace: Who has the expertise?
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 50% of workers (61 percent) want to receive [...]
Wellness in the worksite
Good for waistlines & your bottom line
By Sandra Simpson, APRN, BC, COHN-S, manager in Occupational Health Services at a Fortune 500 corporation in Memphis, Tenn., and a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN). For a copy of the AAOHN wellness survey, visit www.aaohn.org, or call (800) [...]