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Can a wellness program save your business?

Is there an employee within your business that is critical to your ability to meet your customer’s needs? What if that individual became sick and could not come to work for an extended period of time? Maybe that employee is you?

Some studies show that 70-80 percent of all chronic illness in this country is preventable and treatable with lifestyle change. If you knew ahead of time that a simple doctor’s visit and/or free preventative screening, followed by maybe a monthly prescription and some minor lifestyle change could have saved your business, would you have invested the time?

As workplace health professionals, we have seen successful businesses fail when an owner, partner, or key employee has fallen ill from medical conditions that very well may have been avoidable.

Businesses of all sizes often avoid worksite wellness programs due to the belief it is too expensive and too time consuming, yet study after study shows a positive return on investment in workplace wellness. Many wellness-related activities can be done at no direct cost to the employer.

Most group sponsored insurance plans have wellness components built right into them. You are already paying for it, but many employees (and their covered family members) don’t even know these wellness benefits exist! Gym memberships, health screenings, or even earning money for eating fresh produce are just some of the built in programs your group plan may include as part of the monthly premium. Insurance company sponsored wellness websites also offer employees tools they need to be healthier, at no additional cost to the employer.

If you are an employer, consider a small incentive beyond what your health plan offers. Why not provide a $50 gift card for every employee who goes and has their annual PCP visit? Better yet, offer paid time off to allow employees to schedule its annual PCP visit, or to get to their recommended cancer screenings. This small investment can pay off in a big way.

Don’t forget about spouses in your wellness programs. Time off work taking care of a spouse can be just as devastating to a business as losing the employee to illness.

What if you are no longer in the workforce? Many Medicare plans include wellness components for their members – be sure to take advantage of them!

As the economy slowed, many companies did more with less.Can you think of a more valuable asset than your employees, including yourself? Low and no cost effective wellness programs are available for employers of all sizes.

Take the time to educate yourself on what your insurance plan offers, and then help educate and promote these services to your employees and co-workers: it could save your business!

Chautauqua County has high rates of both heart attack and stroke, but an estimated 80 percent of heart attacks and strokes are preventable.

CHQ250 is an initiative of the Chautauqua Health Action Team(CHAT), encouraging you to take action to be one of at least 250 strokes, heart attacks, or related deaths prevented in Chautauqua County in the coming year. This column is written by CHAT members to share information to help you to do your part to live a life free of stroke or heart disease; it is not intended to replace advice provided by your healthcare team. Please direct questions or comments to: activecounty@co.chautauqua.ny.us.

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