Corporate Health & Wellness Programs

By Kerrie Ann Frey

High insurance claims rates, rising healthcare premiums, increased absenteeism. One way corporations are tackling these issues is through wellness programs that encourage healthy habits and preventative care in its employees.

“We were doing online assessments, giving an incentive to do that assessment, but we knew that we needed to get the employees more engaged,” explained Franck Labiche, Human Resources Director at Laitram. Headquartered in Harahan, Laitram is global manufacturing company with four operating divisions. With nearly 2000 employees worldwide, Laitram offers its employees a corporate wellness program designed to complement the company’s already existing health plan. …show more content…
Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, workplace wellness is a $6 billion dollar industry in the U.S., with a handful of key strategic components.

Data collection. Screening activities, such as HRAs (health risk assessments), clinical or biometric screenings for common risk factors like high blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, cholesterol etc., provide information both self-reported and based on clinical measurement. The employee and employer both are well informed about the health risks so as to be able to provide preventative measures, improve disease control in employees with chronic conditions and to eliminate risk factors associated with lifestyle management issues. Sharyn Hecard, Manager of Corporate Membership at Elmwood Fitness Center, says there are options in Elmwood’s Corporate Membership Program, including such data collection as cholesterol screenings for companies. The employees will be met at their workplace and the nutrition team collects the data on-site, making the process easier. Other corporations feature an on-site health center, with unlimited access to services, access to nurse practitioners and easy online or phone appointment …show more content…
Organizations like The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine is the Tulane School of Medicine Teaching Kitchen. While its mission is “to better prepare future physicians to serve and heal patients and communities”, it also provides community outreach, offering companies and individuals access to cooking classes, online recipes and hosted dinners featuring celebrity chefs. The goal of working with companies and people is to better their health through a better