Join Our Evil Army
|
Commands sent monthly via email newsletter.
|
|
|
|
|
Beyond the ROI.
| |
Wait, there's more to wellness than money?
We recently read an interesting blog post in EBN (that's Employee Benefits News, for those of you that don't obsess over wellness blogs like some people we know). The article, written by Heath Shackleford, suggested that there is actually more to wellness programs than savings, and, that while Return On Investment served well as an initial motivator, it is high time that we, as wellness professionals, look beyond the ROI.
 | | Don't get us wrong, savings are still important. |
Normally we try to stay away from full quotes (not only is it lazy but, let's face it, we're pretty hilarious) but this was too good not to share in entirety.
"As an industry, we should step away from the calculators, stop torturing the numbers and gain a bit of perspective. There is no return on obsessing over the ROI of wellness programs." How brilliant is that? We couldn't have put it better ourselves. While ROI can serve as a motivator to encourage companies to adopt wellness programs, the benefits of wellness programs are about more than savings. They're about better living. Looking at wellness programs through the lens of ROI alone can distract from the reason people embrace wellness. As Shackleford puts it, "Because of the hard sell on financial performance, we have perpetuated a myopic view of wellness and all that it has to offer. What's more, we've placed unnecessary pressure on wellness to generate results that are largely unrealistic, i.e. deliver immediate financial value."  | | "Arr! Where are me savings?" |
Judging wellness solely on the basis of ROI leads to letdown. Approach your program holistically. Measure the happiness index of your employees. Gauge the amount of momentum and enthusiasm your program has generated by looking at participation and program satisfaction surveys. In addition to setting up a metrics baseline and checking your ROI think about other ways it impacts your company. Here is a pretty simple metric of program success: ask yourself, "What would happen if we shelved this program tomorrow?" Just as your office manager likely does not obsess over the ROI for post-it notes, you probably continue to buy them because you intuitively know that their function lends something important but unquantifiable to the organization. If your gut tells you that taking away wellness would only rouse the ire of a dedicated few then perhaps it is time to start thinking about how it can be a more ubiquitous and integrated part of your company culture. For more on how to make wellness even more awesome, you know what to do. We'll see you downscreen.
|
|
Your Recess Moment.
|
| |
Meet the team.
The introduction continues.
Last month we introduced you to Roz. This month we're featuring a Recess Alum, who, though she had to take a break from Recess to focus on her studies, contributed so much during her time at Recess we decide to interview her anyway. Also, she's just all-around awesome.
 | | Caitlin, sipping preTEAily. |
Catlin is about (she'll be done in June) to get her Master's of Public Health from Portland State University. Her specialties are Health Promotion and Advocacy and Social Change. Needless to say, she fit right in at Recess. We sat down over some tea to talk about what she's been up to lately and how her time at Recess has contributed to her perspectives.
Us: What are you up to these days, Miss Caitlin?
Caitlin: Well, other than prepping for my final tests for my degree, I'm working on a research project that works with kids in preschool to promote healthier habits and healthier eating. It's like Recess for babies. We recently just did a food preference assessment and the results were really positive. Most of the kids have been very willing to try all the fruits and vegetables, so that was really exciting.
I also recently interviewed food service workers at the preschools about their experience implementing healthier foods in childcare settings. We found out that a lot of the food service workers had never cooked anything from scratch before, so it's definitely a learning process!
Us: Wow! Sounds interesting! Okay, how did your time at Recess carry over into the work you're doing now?
Caitlin: I learned how important it is to focus on a task, to self-check and not multi-task. Sometimes not multi-tasking is seen as a deficit, but I think focusing on one thing at a time really adds value to the quality of work. That attitude is something I learned while working at Recess. Now, if my phone rings and I'm working I don't pick it up. Also, Tanya really taught me the importance of relaxation time and taking time for yourself.
|
|
Your Recess Moment Part 2. It's that important.
|
| |
We have a new partner!
For those who slept through last month's newsletter this is last call on some good news. Earlier this year Recess was selected by Mercer as one of a handful of national Total Health Management Valued Service Providers. Translated into fewer syllables this means that we can save your company's culture of health faster than a speeding bullet. Because of this partnership, we now offer preferential pricing to all Mercer clients. Any of our newsletter readers who are Mercer clients should check in with Recess or their local Mercer consultant about what services we can offer at the most competitive price on the market. Is that not the best news ever?
 | | Recess and Mercer, together fighting the injustice of poor health! |
|
|
Managing Chronic Pain.
|
| |
Wellness is possible...even in the face of poor health.
Chronic Pain Management. About as fun as it sounds. Wellness can be a challenge for healthy people. For people trying to get back to healthy, it can seem even more daunting. For those with chronic pain, wellness takes on a whole new meaning. Forget remembering five servings of fruits and veggies a day. Wellness is reclaiming a vibrant life despite the challenge of chronic pain.  | An apple a day cannot cure everything.
|
Chronic pain, as opposed to acute pain, is pain that lasts for more than 3-6 months. While you might think this is a challenge faced by a small minority of health care users, nationally estimates range from 70-116 million Americans living with chronic pain. Pain does not simply affect one area of the sufferer's body, its effect is also associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression, sleep disturbances and insomnia, and reduced physical activity due to fears of worsening pain. All in all the impact of pain can trigger a series of behaviors and conditions which make it increasingly difficult for those experiencing chronic pain to practice just the kinds of self care necessary to speed up their recovery. For individuals living with chronic pain, having an effective pain-management program is critical. However, as we've discussed in the past, sometimes it's hard to know what a "good" program is. Which leads us to...
So, what are five characteristics of a good chronic pain management program? For starters, what kinds of situations does your management program address? Does it cover gaps in care? Wait, what are gaps in care? Is that some sort of doctor talk for "not having been to the doctor in a while?" Actually, no. What gaps in care means is "the differences between best care and usual care." That's quoted because that information is coming directly from US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Gaps in care can also refer to how the patient is taking the doctor's recommended advice. For example,according to a 2006 article in Consultant magazine, "only 30% to 45% of patients with diabetes in the United States are reaching the American Diabetes Association goals for hemoglobin low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, or blood pressure." Clearly, getting those numbers up is critical. But how? Well, conveniently that leads us to the next point! Quelle surprise!  | | What a good pain management program isn't. |
Ever heard the saying " It takes a village?" This is applicable to more than raising children. In regards to chronic pain management, coordination and communication is critical. Not only do the practitioners need to be communicating amongst each other, but the patient needs to feel comfortable communicating to said practitioners. There's lots of information out there with tips to help the patient communicate with their doctor, but since communication is a two-way street, having a knowledgeable practitioner who asks the right questions helps this process immensely. According to a report published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, "[A health strategy] should also embrace broad partnerships in which providers may be a cross-disciplinary team of nurses, physicians and pharmacists; the patient partners may include all patients in the community with a disease or group of diseases; and the system managers should work with all to seek improved long-term care and share the governance of interventions and resources." In other words, let's get together and feel alright.  | | We're all in this together. |
On to point three! How is the individual in question (the chronic pain sufferer) going to be able to contact the person they need to when they need to? What lines of communication are open--and when? How do you handle coverage when it's after 5 PM? Do you have 24-hr-a-day live chat, telephone, or email available? This stuff matters. Even the U.S. government thinks so. According to a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "...facilitating coordinated care and providing uniform information to all providers caring for an individual...has great potential to help clinicians, health care delivery systems, families, and individuals..."
So get out there and take stock of your M.O.C. (Methods of Communication) and we will see you at point four!  | | We can't stress this enough: Good communication is CRITICAL. |
Welcome to point four, wherein we ask what kinds of programs and services are offered? Is pain management defined as a prescription and not much else? Or is more offered (let's hope so!) What kind of counseling is available? Is there physical therapy offered? What about transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation? That last one was straight from the pages of the Canadian journal Pain Research and Management. Apparently pain research is big business in Canada.
 | | Pictured: Canada. |
Our final point is a pretty basic one, so basic, in fact, we maybe should have led with it. How are you attracting people to your program? Are you providing the information and the incentives to get people into a comprehensive and strategic pain management program? What are you doing to motivate and encourage? Seriously, that question wasn't a rhetorical. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Join the conversation at our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, our BRAND-NEW Pinterest page, or at our blog. See you there!
|
|
|
|
|
