Hospitals and health systems have jumped on the workplace-wellness bandwagon. Many--including Baptist Health South Florida, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia--have earned spots on the National Business Group on Health's 2010 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles list.
Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles honors employers that "responded to the urgent need to improve their workers' health, productivity and quality of life," a news release states. "The underlying goal of the program is to encourage all employers to take action."
"Healthcare organizations want to walk the talk, and they should," LuAnn Heinen, a vice president at NBGH, told HealthLeaders Media.
Despite only two hospital systems--Baptist Health South Florida and Mayo Clinic--appearing on the list for all six years of its existence, smaller healthcare organizations are beginning to embrace the healthy lifestyles philosophy, too. For example, Nash Health Care System in Rocky Mount, N.C., uses incentives to promote worker health and wellness; in 2009, it launched an employee disease-management program, Nash for Life, reports the Rocky Mount Telegram.
Still, not everyone is sold on the philosophy of wellness programs. "My perspective is that wellness programs are a waste of time and money," Greg Szymanski, a human resources director in Seattle told Human Resource Executive Online.
For more information:
- check out the NBGH's list of 2010 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles
- read Human Resource Executive Online's take on the issue of workplace wellness
- find out more about Nash Health Care System in this Rocky Mount Telegram article
- check out this HealthLeaders Media story