advancing healthy lifestyles through employers
Why Should Employers Care?
Healthy employees are productive employees. When employees make poor health decisions, it not only impacts them directly, but also affects business's indirect costs - particularly lost productivity. This cost is is borne by all employers, even those that do not provide heath benefits.
The costs of absenteesim, presenteeism, and disability may be 2-3 times higher than direct medical costs.
To remain competitive, employers must address employee health and take a proactive approach to chronic disease.
Partnering with the National Network of Wellness Councils is the first step to addressing critical issues of employee health.
About us
The National Network of Wellness Councils (NNWC) is a collaboration of health coalitions from around the nation who are committed to advancing the health of individuals in worksites and communities. NNWC is a 501(c)3 non-profit that currently serves over 3 million employees and their families residing in 15 US states.
The NNWC:
* Recognizes employer health initiatives
* Advances proven outcomes
* Promotes collaborative efforts among health stakeholders
* Provides national resources to local coalitions
How we do it?
By collaborating one-on-on with business and organizations to design and implement programs and policies that impact employees and their families.
Through an application process that evaluates an employer's wellness program, best practices are acknowledged and rewarded with nationally recognized National Excellence in Worksite Wellness (NEWW) award.
LiveWell Survey
Designed by 40 health professionals, including physicians, dentists, clinical psychologists, exercise scientists, registered dietitians, and epidemiologists, this high quality health risk assessment includes a health culture audit and interest survey.
It incorporates demographic and lost work analysis, as well as biometric data, into aggregate reports, backed by the science and data of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevenetion's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System. It is inexpensive, state specific, and allows for benchmarking against like industries, nationwide.
Worksite Wellness 101
A trademark program of the Wellness Council of West Virginia, WW101 is designed to introduce wellness to your organization.
Learn how to assess the needs of your organization, design and implement effective interventions, and measure results. We use an innovative instructional framework that includes independent study, problem solving, classromm presentations, team activities and site visits to benchmark program success.
Consulting Keynote Address Conference Presentation Lunch n Learn Training
Aggregate Reporting Benchmarking, state and national
National Network Partners
Our Partners, Our Members
NNWC members cover over 3 million employee and family members in 15 states throughout the county. These businesses recognize the value of disease prevention and wellness promotion as opposed to treatment only.
Our members promote best practices and have gold standards of wellness.
Tobacco
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking costs approximately $157 billion each year or $7.18 per pack of cigarettes. Adult smokers consume an average of 1.3 packs of cigarettes a day, or 472 packs a year per smoker. Using this calculation, the average annual cost to employers is $3,391 per smoker, or approximately $1,300 more per year than the cost of a nonsmoker.
It costs $336 million each year to care for infants of smoking mothers; children of smokers have higher rates of asthma and ear infections.
What is your state doing for tobacco control?
Obesity
In 2008, the annual healthcare cost of obesity in the US was estimated to be as high as 147 billion dollars a year.
Medical expenses for obese employees are estimated to be 42 percent higher than for a person with a healthy weight.1 Workplace obesity prevention programs can be an effective way for employers to reduce obesity and lower their health care costs, lower absenteeism and increase employee productivity.
Obesity now kills 300,000 Americans per year and health-care costs associated with the disease top $100 billion annually. The World Bank has estimated that 12 percent of the U.S. national health-care budget is spent treating obesity.
There are other costs as well. One study found that businesses lose $47.6 billion annually due to the indirect costs of obesity, such as lost productivity and higher absenteeism among excessively overweight workers. (CNN Money 04/04/02)
What is obesity costing your worksite?
Presenteeism
Presenteeism describes the working sick. It refers to employees who are physically present in work but who are less productive due to difficulties theyre facing in their personal or professional lives, mental health issues or a physical illness. These circumstances can affect an individuals quality of work as well as, depending on the industry an individual works in, the health and safety of the employee and their colleagues.
It can be a greater cost to employers than the health care costs, abesetteism and disaibility combined.
Addressing stress management, chronic disease and familial issues can be the first step in curbing presenteeism.
ACCREDITATION
Many awards processes recognize worksite initiatives at various levels of achievement. The National Network is a group of local coalitions from all over the United States that works with many of the companies which have received these awards. Staff and board members from the collaborating councils in the NNWC have assisted in developing other awards processes.
Resources and trainings provided by the NNWC set the standards for what is considered Best Practices in the field of corporate wellness.
The NNWC has taken this expertise, combined it with peer reviews from experts in the industry to hone a process by which outcomes based wellness initiatives can be accredited.
Arizona, Wellness Council of Arizona
California , California Taskforce of Youth and Workplace Wellness
Colorado, Livewell
Colorado, HealthBreak, Inc.
Indiana, Wellness Council of Indiana
Massachusetts, Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
Nebraska, WorkWell
Nebraska , Wellness Council of the Midlands
Ohio, Wellness Council of Northeast Ohio
Rhode Island, Worksite Wellness Council of Rhode Island
West Virginia, Wellness Council of WV
Wyoming, Wyoming Health Fairs
Address:
P.O. Box 710, Institute, WV 25112-0710
Tel:
(304) 722-8070
Fax:
(304) 722-8074
Partner with the National Network of Wellness Councils today!
