Engage the Employee

Employees control and update their own personal health records. “The purpose of the patient-owned and -controlled health record is to engage and empower the individual to be active in their own health care,” Baade says.

Fifty of Employers Association’s 100 full-time employees have signed up with SimplyWell. As with any HIPAA-compliant program (the HIPAA legislation governs the security of electronic medical records), SimplyWell does not share individual results with employers; managers are aware only of general health trends in the population.

In terms of measuring her company’s return on investment for SimplyWell, Eskedahl takes the long view. “The first year, we might have increased plan costs because more people are seeking preventive care,” she says. “But we also value long-term employees. If we have more people seeking preventive care, we may also have healthier employees. That’s good for the employee, and good for the employer.”

North American Membership Group, Inc.

Financial Concepts, Inc., an employee-benefits consulting firm in Minnetonka, helped its client, North American Membership Group, Inc., establish a variety of wellness elements. North American, a Minnetonka-based organization that employs 420, operates lifestyle-affinity member organizations. The company developed a wellness program (called a wellness club) for its employees, 200 of whom are members.

“One of the primary goals of the wellness club is to raise employees’ awareness of overall health,” says Shari Wodarck, senior consultant at Financial Concepts. “With the escalating cost of health care, we needed to do something proactive to help employees become healthy people.”

North American tries to have a health and wellness–related event each month. Its two hallmark events are the health fair and Shape Up Challenge. The health fair, held every January, features nurses who perform cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar screenings; staff from the American Heart Association, which offers body mass index testing; and representatives from Medica and Delta Dental, who are available to answer questions about insurance. In the past, North American has also invited massage therapists and acupuncturists to attend.

“The health fair always gets a large number of people out,” says Jaime Fransway, compensation and benefits analyst for North American Membership Group. “We had far more than the 200 [enrolled wellness club members] show up for the health screenings. A lot of people are willing to do the screening there but are not typically going for their yearly exams. It’s good to have nurses there to stress that importance, and it’s a great way to reach employees.”