Wellness Programs in Healthcare: Helping Health Workers Get Healthy

by | Mar 1, 2016 | Business Case

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Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 11.45.33 AMWhile healthcare workers spend their workdays helping people get and stay well, they often struggle to take care of their own wellness.

Studies have found that nurses who work overnight are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, and healthcare workers more generally have high rates of obesity. Ironically, these same challenges that put workers’ wellness at risk—high-stake responsibilities in a fast-paced environment—make it difficult to implement employee wellness programs. As Huffington Post reports, “their jobs involve high levels of intensity and pressure, and managing those while trying to make mindful lifestyle choices can be overwhelming.”

Despite these challenges, some hospitals have had success with their wellness programs. The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio focused on managing stress. The clinic implemented “Code Lavender,” which involves dispatching a team of holistic care nurses to provide Reiki healing and massage, healthy snacks, and water for workers who are facing extreme stress, emotional patient experiences, and burnout. The clinic also offers mindfulness training, which might reduce burnout (experienced by nearly half of all physicians) and help physicians feel more connected to their patients.

According to Huffington Post, the Huntsville Hospital System in Alabama teamed up with a stair-tracking app, to encourage employees to opt for the stairs instead of the elevator. In a state with one of the nation’s highest obesity rates, the Huntsville wellness team focused on this simple environmental intervention, which includes signs by the elevators and stairwells with calories employees could burn for climbing and descending, as well as the ability to scan the signs with their phones to track their progress. The employees climbed enough stairs to burn as many calories as it takes to summit Mount Everest—in just three weeks. To reach employees who aren’t proactively working on their wellness, it helps to include visual prompts and nudges on the walls, Huffington Post reports.

The Mayo Clinic, on the other hand, saw mixed results when they implemented a workplace wellness center. A recent report in Nature found that membership in the wellness center was associated with increased exercise and decreased rates of smoking among employees. Interestingly, it did not show a significant impact on obesity rates, which were rising nationally. The wellness center offered exercise equipment, group fitness classes, cooking demonstrations, and individual wellness evaluations and weight loss programs. Still, as the report notes: “Worksite health interventions… have shown effectiveness in decreasing various health risk factors, increasing productivity, minimizing short-term absenteeism, and even decreasing employee’s health care costs.”

Written By Laura McKenzie

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