Submitted by admin on Sun, 2006-11-12 08:00. ::
As more employers implement programs to improve employee health, hospitals have stepped up as unexpected partners in lowering costs for businesses.
They're assisting employers -- particularly those under their insurance umbrella -- in a number of ways, from developing in-house corporate wellness divisions to contracting with third-party consultants who work up employee wellness profiles.
It's a trend hospital administrators say was borne out of the high cost of health benefits, which is forcing businesses to demand more cost-containment solutions.
Hospitals -- which pay for consultants, hire program directors and offer reduced-rate services such as smoking cessation classes -- say the investment reaps significant rewards such as increased patient volume and additional contracting leverage.
"It makes good business sense for us," said Cindy LaFleur, vice president for rehabilitation services at the Via Christi Wichita Health Network. Via Christi now is developing a comprehensive, outcomes-based corporate wellness program for employers.
"You want to hold down the dollars of unnecessary referrals and emergency room visits, and make sure you have good programs in place... to give access in the most appropriate settings," she said. "We've all got to step up and do our part to reduce expenditures."
About 18 months ago, Wesley Medical Center hired health care consultants Aegis. The Nashville-based firm specializes in creating work force health initiatives that link employer needs with the services of local hospitals.
Co-founder and president Robert Chamberlain, who spoke last month in Wichita at a health care seminar, encouraged employers to analyze their claims data and see where improvements could be made.
Employee health contributes directly to a company's bottom line, affecting everything from production to absenteeism. The key is to reward healthy employees and motivate the unhealthy, he said.
"It's a win-win strategy that is catching on around the country," said Larry McKellips, a Wichita-based employer relations specialist for Aegis. "Companies want to stay in business, and to do that, they have to go places they haven't been before."
"If we are going to be a hospital of choice for these employers, we've got to get engaged in all facets of care," Wesley president and chief executive Hugh Tappan said.
The company has been concerned about employee health for several years now. That is why it maintains an in-house employee fitness center and has offered weight-loss and smoking cessation programs in the past, even before switching to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas this year, said Nita Long, director of compensation and benefits.
"It's not just a matter of shopping for the cheapest health care coverage," she said. "It's a matter of educating your work force and offering programs to help them improve their health so they don't need to use their coverage as much.
"It's a new trend (for employers), but it's a very positive one and Wesley has been very, very positive in coming forward with programs we can use."
Wellness and prevention expert James Early, founder of Solutions for Life in partnership with Via Christi Regional Medical Center, is helping develop Via Christi's corporate programs.
Hospitals joining with employers will become the norm, said Early, who also is director of clinical preventive medicine for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.
"What is now happening is we have matured from the idea of doing wellness as an add-on to marketing and are making it a viable and vital part of the delivery of overall health care services to industry," Early said.
"We no longer have the financial freedom to just treat illness. (Health care providers) are going to be required to provide legitimate preventive services or businesses will go elsewhere."
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