Georgia County Government - January 2009 - (Page 31)

encouraging them to drop unhealthy habits and adopt new, healthy ones. Work-site Wellness Programs Work-site Wellness Programs, in the health insurance setting, are programs delivered at employers’ work sites. These are generally developed, controlled and funded primarily by the employer, often with support from their insurer. A review of 56 published studies of work-site health promotion programs by the Washingtonbased Partnership for Prevention found that these programs on average produced a savings of $5.81 for every dollar employers invested. A 2008 Emory University study found that a telephone-based health coaching program on weight management succeeded in reducing employees’ health risk factors, more than $300,000 on the 890 participant health care costs, a return on investment of $1.17 for every dollar spent on the program. Many of Georgia’s larger counties have caught on to the benefits of employee wellness programs. Since 1995, Gwinnett County employees, retirees, and their families have been invited to an Employee Health and Benefits Fair on the benefits of wellness. Bartow County holds an employee wellness fair every August. These annual events give employees, retirees and their families the chance to meet with a host of allied health professionals, insurers and related organizations. Participants learn how to pursue healthier lifestyles, habits and in general, assume responsibility for their own better health, from scores of vendors. Liberty County was awarded its second ACCG Wellness Grant in 2008. The Grant funds were used to implement many employee wellness programs and activities. Self-Care Guides were distributed to help employees make informed decisions about their health. The county sponsored a Biggest Loser competition. The challenge was held for eight weeks and involved the assistance of a personal trainer who showed employees how to properly walk and exercise. Various lunch-and-learn workshops were presented to help employees make wise choices. Topics included nutrition, food portion control, and healthy eating. Employees that participated in the lunch and learns earned small cash incentives. Different departments competed against each other, however in the end one person won the title, and a cash reward. The biggest reward though, was won as a group … collectively, they lost nearly 200 pounds! Liberty County collaborated with many local organizations to provide wellness screenings and health education to host their first Health Fair. Employees completed a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) questionnaire to determine their level of health and encourage lifestyle improvement. The fair was held over a span of two days with almost 100 percent employee participation. Liberty County is well on their way to the best health possible! Chatham County recently implemented a unique intensive worksite wellness pilot program. A group of 36 county employees and officials have volunteered to participate in a three-month wellness program conducted by a local medical clinic that involves diet, exercise and medical monitoring. Pilot participants will receive meals that meet American Diabetes Association standards for healthy diets and have personal instruction and unlimited use of the clinic’s workout equipment. They are required to use the gym twice a week for 30 minutes. Their prescription drugs will be carefully reviewed to eliminate duplicate medications and see if less costly generic drugs can be substituted for brand versions. the prescribing of drugs with dangerous negative interactions). Beginning with disabling and expensive illnesses such as coronary heart disease and asthma, Disease Management now reaches out to individuals with almost all chronic illnesses including obesity and diabetes – related diseases that threaten to overwhelm the health care system. Genetics Genetics – the information encoded in each individual’s DNA – also plays a major role in our health. Perhaps 50 percent or more of all illness is in some way genetically related. Changing your lifestyle may reduce the impact of your genes on your health, but often it is not enough. During the late 1990s insurers began using medical claims data to develop programs designed to help people improve their health and extend their lives. These programs, which were the beginning of Disease Management, succeeded primarily by alerting individuals and their physicians to problems with the lack of monitoring of medical conditions, patient compliance with recommended treatment, and failure to properly take prescribed drugs (as well as Disease Management As its name implies, Disease Management is designed to identify employees and dependents with chronic and/or potentially catastrophic medical conditions. Once a serious chronic illness is identified, the program reaches out with written information, personal and physician contacts, and direct support to help people manage their conditions to reach the highest health status possible and hopefully prevent them from deteriorating into even more serious and expensive medical conditions. Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Georgia’s (BCBSGa) disease management programs are called “360° Health,” recognizing that all aspects of a person’s health need attention. 360° Health’s ConditionCare programs can help participants better manage chronic conditions including: diabetes, heart failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coronary artery disease (CAD). Eligible members have a dedicated nurse care manager and support team of health and wellness experts who work together to help them optimize their health. (Employee participation in the disease management program is voluntary – but can be encouraged by the county.) Predictive Modeling Predictive Modeling is another component of the “BCBS 360°” Disease Management program. Using fully integrated health and prescription claims data, and Health Risk Appraisal responses provided by employees, individuals are identified who are likely to have significant health issues and costs over the next five to 10 years. These people are often not aware of these problems. 360° works directly with them to change the course EMPLOYEE HEALTH continued on page 32 JANUARY 2009 www.accg.org 31 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - January 2009

Georgia County Government - January 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters Forward-Thinking Bulloch County Leaders Put Progress on the Front Burner Robert Farris: Champion for Georgia’s Forests ACCG, BCBS of Georgia Work Together to Improve County Employee Health Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: McIntosh County Extension News: Cooperative Extension Generates ROI Research Corner: How Does Your County Rate? County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - January 2009

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