Small investments in employee health yield dividends

A healthy workforce is a bargain for business. A company that takes care of its employees and encourages employees to lead a healthy life can not only save money on its insurance costs, but will also benefit from a more productive workforce, say area business leaders.

"Three years ago, plant wide, our health care costs amounted to $3.5 million," said Jim Ostergaard, human resources director at Nordenia in Cape Girardeau. "I predicted that in five years it would double to $6.1 million. Here I am three years later and our health care has stayed around $3.5 million; it has not doubled."

Nordenia controlled costs through a pro-active approach to health care. And it listens to its employees, Ostergaard said.

Nordenia's approach to health care focuses on wellness and prevention, Ostergaard said.

While he can't point to specific figures proving that the emphasis on wellness helped control health care costs, Ostergaard said it's reasonable to believe that it does. In one example, he cites an employee who, during the first year the company began its wellness program, had a checkup that revealed a serious health condition.

"One could conclude we avoided a significant bill by making the employee aware of his health issues and getting treatment" instead of paying for costly treatments after his conditioned worsened, Ostergaard said. "It's hard to put a dollar to that."

Ostergaard said that industry studies have shown that employees tend not to abuse health benefits. To encourage participation in the wellness program, many diagnostic tests are provided at no cost to the employees.

By including the tests in the basic package, the wellness program removes the employee's reluctance to part with money as an obstacle, Ostergaard said. Nothing comes out of the household budget.

"If you want to get one 12 times a year, God bless you," he said. "We don't find any abuse. We don't make it expensive to the employees and it no longer becomes an excuse."

Nordenia also formed wellness committees on all of its shifts, groups that meet every six weeks to discuss ways to promote wellness. Those committees recommended offering fresh fruit as an alternative to sugary vending-machine snacks. As a result, Nordenia spends $100 to $200 a month to offer apples, oranges and bananas free to its workforce and send a message encouraging healthy eating.

Nordenia pays Southeast Hospital from $50 to $75 to work up health profiles on each employee, recording their potential health risks. The profiles allow Southeast to track if some workers are tending to diabetes, hypertension, or other health problems, and work to set up a treatment plan.

The company doesn't offer plans for employees to join fitness centers for workouts at a discount, Ostergaard said, because the fitness centers in the area did not offer discounts. Instead Nordenia sponsors co-ed softball, golf, and bowling leagues and promotes physical activity in that fashion. It also offers options for those who want to quit smoking.

Other offerings include a 24-hour nurse line for situations that don't require emergency treatment but do need medical attention and regular information to help employees understand medical conditions they might have,

Rubbermaid in Jackson also focuses on wellness for its employees says Kristen Wolfe, human resources manager.

"Rubbermaid promotes a variety of wellness initiatives tied to health and welfare plans," Wolfe said.

Employees can have annual wellness screens, and can get information about chronic conditions via a telephone line. Smoking cessation programs are available, pregnancy information at different trimesters is offered, among other programs.

Wolfe said the health care costs to the company as a whole has resulted in a savings, but it's impossible to say what the savings is locally because all the figures are tied together.

"From a corporate stand point, it has made a financial impact," she said.