Wellness Works for SAMC employees

February, 28, 2010: DOTHAN Eagle (dothaneagle.com)

Wellness Works for SAMC employees

Debbie Ingram

Mid-life was taking a toll on Samuel King.

At 37, the Donalsonville, Ga., resident was overweight with borderline high cholesterol and was taking medication for Type II diabetes. As life’s responsibilities became overwhelming, King felt depressed and withdrawn.

Then he signed up for a wellness program through his employer, Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

In a year’s time, King dropped 20 pounds, lowered his cholesterol, threw out his diabetes medications and says: “I feel great.”

“I began with diet and exercise and when I got over there at the fitness center and started working with a personal trainer, we managed to change Samuel,” said King, a power plant technician who works nights at the hospital.

King talks about the change in third person as if he can hardly believe this new person he has become, the one who runs three to four miles three times a week and works out six days a week. The same guy who now avoids fried foods, embraces new experiences, and spends more time with his four children.

“I was like a lot of people,” he said. “I got into a rut. You worry about providing for your family, being a good husband …. I was in school at the time to be an electrician. I was eating whatever I wanted to eat and there was a little bit of stress involved with that. I had put myself on the back burner.”

King is one of SAMC’s 643 employee success stories who met personal health goals last year under the hospital’s Wellness Works program implemented in August 2008 by Peggy Sease, vice president of Human Resources.

The program was established as a way to reduce insurance costs for the 3,908 employee and family members self-insured under the medical center’s plan. But it was also viewed as a means to the end of addressing the national problem of the declining health of the workforce.

The program begins with a physical assessment. When tested, many SAMC employees were found to be in a disease state suffering from diabetes, vascular disease, coronary pulmonary disease, and coronary artery disease. They were obese, had high blood pressure and cholesterol, and suffered from other illnesses caused by prolonged tobacco use.

Southeast Alabama Medical Center officials knew there were certain community expectations of the areas largest health care provider and one of the top 100 cardiovascular care facilities in the nation.

Sease said hospital management realized the need to not only promote wellness and healthy living for its patients, but to assume that leadership role in the community. It was a role, Sease said, that had to grow from within.

“As a hospital, how could we possibly take care of our patients and look at our mission statement of supporting wellness, if our employees were not as healthy as they could possibly be?” Sease said.

SAMC launched Wellness Works as a voluntary program for all employees, and provides financial incentives in the form of reduced health insurance rates for those who participate, set and meet health goals. Employees also earn “well bucks” which can be cashed in for gas cards, restaurant gift certificates, movie passes, and a day off with pay.

Dr. James C. Jones, medical director of emergency services at SAMC and a consultant for the Wellness Works program, said the medical community must focus on health promotion and disease prevention.

“Part of our mission is wellness in our community,” Jones said. “We have an internal program that now aligns with our external commitment to promote wellness in the community.”

Each fall the program begins with a health assessment and nurse physical with annual blood work to identify potential risk factors. Participants are then categorized as:
—Having no risk;
—Needing to make changes to improve overall health;
—Having a serious health concern.
SAMC employs 2,588 people and 1,940 employees opted for the hospital’s medical coverage. Of those, 1,312 are paying the discounted rate based on participation in the program.Last year 1,437 employees participated, with 643 reported reaching their health goals.

The numbers speak for themselves. Body mass index was significantly reduced by 178 employees and 161 lowered their blood pressure to safe levels. LDL and HDL cholesterol was improved for more than 120 employees and triglyceride levels were reduced for 66 employees. Thirteen workers stopped using tobacco products.

“Some with multiple risk factors met more than one goal,” Sease said. “Over the last year, our employees lost 3,843 pounds.”Success was achieved through a strenuous education program that included class participation, wellness activities and on-site fitness classes. Workers were also assigned wellness coaches and case managers for individualized assistance, depending on their needs.

The fact that this is a real program contributes to its success, Jones said. It is hands-on and not a directive sent out by the corporate headquarters of the company.

“This program promotes a healthy lifestyle and informed health care decision through a combination of personalized coaching and fitness and nutrition tools,” Jones said. “It is a real program with data rolling in, proving it can lead to a reduction in time off for illness and medical claims.”

Because they work in a healthcare setting, Jones said many employees know how to improve or maintain their health. They just haven’t always acted on that knowledge.

“We wanted to give employees some ideas of what will work. That health coach is a key service to help maintain motivation and show them how to reach goals,” he said. “We are not just sending out an e-mail telling people how to stop smoking. It involves much more than that.”

Regarding smoking, since the hospital became smoke-free and all new hires must be tobacco-free, those existing employees who do smoke receive assistance to stop.

In terms of employee health care costs, the hospital has curtailed the steady year-over-year increases through the program and workers are thinking differently.

“We are not spending nearly as much as we were,” Sease said. “Two years ago our employees were not in-tuned to their influence on costs. Now they are starting to think about what they are doing.

“Cost is important, but the morale of your employees — seeing that pick up — is also positive,” she said. “Employees are happier and healthier at work. They’ve increased their life expectancies and they feel better. They can enjoy more activities with their families and do more with their lives. All this makes them better employees.”

Insurance department clerk Kim Horchen is one of those happier workers. The 30-year SAMC employee went kicking and screaming into the program, but after a reduction of 60 pounds, the Wicksburg woman is a believer.

“My face went white when they announced the program,” she said, “but I was not going to pay a higher insurance premium. Today my blood sugar is normal, I lost weight, and my BMI is better.”The 53-year-old walks or works out daily at the hospital and has found a sure way to stay motivated.

“I do not want to gain that weight back,” she says. “I was 220 pounds. One thing I’ve learned, you have got to stay out of fast food places. They are not good.”

SAMC can take the Wellness Works into your place of business. For more information, call 793-8001.