What is wellness?
- The state or condition of being in good physical and mental health, especially as the result of deliberate effort.
- An approach to health care that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.
- The Wellness-Continuum consists of being aware of one’s health, educating yourself on methods of health improvement and growing as a healthy individual.
- This is different from an Illness-Continuum. An illness paradigm consists of signs and symptoms of disease which may lead to disease treatment and efforts to prevent or delay the demise of physical health.
How does an employee’s wellness affect their work?
- Healthy workers and their families are likely to incur lower medical costs and be more productive, while those with a chronic health condition generate higher costs in terms of health care use, absenteeism, disability and overall reduced work productivity (Goetzel, Long, Ozminkowski, et. Al. 2004).
- Workplace illnesses and injuries in 2006 accounted for $87.6 billion dollars in Worker’s Compensation claims (Sengupta, Reno & Burton, 2008).
- Research has found that sick time costs a company $602 per year, per employee (which does not include indirect costs such as overtime pay for employees who are covering duties, missed deadlines, lost sales, lowered productivity, etc.). (Smith, Maureen. Sick Leave Abuse: A Chronic Workplace Ill? )
What can SOMC corporate wellness do for you?
- Sick time and other employer illness-related expenses can be reduced by 25% with an effective wellness program. This is related to the fact that 75% of health care spending is attributable to illnesses that are preventable. (CDC, 2002)
- Our Corporate Wellness program includes health education, resources for related services, supportive physical and social environments for health improvement, integration of health promotion into the organization’s culture, and offers employee health screenings with counseling and follow-up.
- We can create a program that is built around ongoing individual employee wellness goals with personal wellness coaching by a registered nurse.
- We can provide on-site, online and SOMC campus-based wellness options to better accommodate employers and employees specific needs.
We are excited about the opportunity to discuss your specific needs and to tailor a program that will drive tangible results for the health of your employees and your organization. To discover what partnership options may be suitable and available to your company, please call 740.356.7557.