What's New | September 16, 2009

Worksite Wellness

Despite rising health care costs, employee health is worsening. This combination of factors threatens corporate viability and the sustainability of the American health care system. As the largest provider of health care coverage, employers offer the potential to exert transformative leadership, according to the U.S. Workplace Wellness Alliance.

The featured innovations describe a variety of employer-initiated programs designed to improve employee health and reduce health care costs.

The featured QualityTools provide practical resources to assess and promote employee health.

Featured Innovations:

• Diabetes Educators Provide Counseling at Worksites, Leading to Enhanced Knowledge, Improved Outcomes, and Reduced Absenteeism

• Pharmacist Coaches Lower Copayments, Improve Outcomes, and Reduce Costs for Employees With Diabetes

• Worksite Program Focused on Goal Setting, Additional Support Significantly Increases Level of Physical Activity Among Employees

Featured QualityTools:

• Diabetes Cost Calculator for Employers
Developed by The Lewin Group

• Diabetesatwork.org
Developed by America's Health Insurance Plans; National Business Coalition on Health; National Business Group on Health; National Diabetes Education Program; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Investing in Health: Evidence-Based Health Promotion Practices for the Workplace
Developed by Partnership for Prevention

• Worksite Wellness Toolkit
Developed by Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services

View Other Issues

Also in This Issue:

Innovations >

• Alerts, Standing Orders, and Care Pathways Boost Quality of Care for Pneumonia, Heart Attack, and Heart Failure

• Conveniently Located “Napping Rooms” Provide Opportunity for Night- and Extended-Shift Providers to Rest, Leading to Less Fatigue and Better Performance

• Encouraging Solicitation and Supporting Implementation of Employee-Generated Ideas Leads to Significant Reduction in Incidence of Common Hospital-Acquired Infection

• Evidence-Based Bundle for Adults Is Adapted by Pediatric Intensive Care Units, Reducing Ventilator-Acquired Pneumonia and Lowering Costs

• Hospital-Based Program Proactively Identifies, Addresses Delirium Risk Factors in Elderly, Leading to Less Cognitive/Functional Decline and Lower Nursing Home Costs
with Story

• Onsite Nurses Manage Care Across Settings to Increase Satisfaction and Reduce Cost for Chronically Ill Seniors
with Story

QualityTools >

• California Fit Business Kit
Developed by California Department of Health Services

• Smoke-Free Policies: Establishing a Smoke-Free Ordinance to Reduce Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Indoor Worksites and Public Places—An Action Guide
Developed by Partnership for Prevention