CCH Corporate Wellness Program Helps Businesses, Individuals Meet Healthcare Goals

At age 66, Campbell County Sheriff Deputy Bob Melvin wanted to make some changes in his life. Overweight and facing knee surgery, he knew he needed to make some lifestyle changes to improve his health and wellness. With incentives from his employer, Bob completed a health screening and signed up for Campbell County Health Wellness health coaching program.

“I’ve been overweight and I wanted to be healthy,” Bob said. “I thought it was time to buckle down and change my lifestyle. I wanted to lose weight and maintain a better activity level.”

For little more than a year, Bob has worked with a health coach at CCH that has helped him lose about 30 pounds by guiding his path to eat better and exercise more. With the health coach, Bob set some personal goals and he has worked diligently to achieve them. Each year, Bob also gets a new blood screen, which also helps him track his progress.

“The blood results gave me some clear feedback on my improvement,” Bob said. “I’m comfortable with the weight I’ve lost, but I’d like to lose a little more.”

For that reason, Bob continues to meet with his health coach to help him set goals, receive some feedback on diet and exercise, and keep him accountable.

“It’s somebody there who can guide you through the process,” Bob said. “I think CCH Wellness is a good resource. It offered the positive feedback I needed. They gave me some guidelines and advice on things I could do differently.”

After undergoing knee surgery in June, Bob said he’s pleased with his recovery time and believes that the recovery process has been easier because he is healthier. Now enjoying less pain when he is active, he’s also adding more exercise to his routine.

“I’ve since been able to do things I haven’t been able to do in a long time,” Bob said.

Wellness helps individuals like Bob improve their lifestyle through its individual and corporate wellness programs. For companies large and small, the program can help keep healthcare costs in check and assist businesses in building a healthy environment for their employees.

“People are recognizing the importance of prevention,” said Tanya Allee, supervisor at Wellness.

There are 12,000 to 15,000 people who participate in a CCH Wellness program (corporate or healthCHECK+) annually, and nearly 30 businesses provide Corporate Wellness services to their employees.

The Corporate Wellness Program provides a variety of services and different participation levels for businesses. The basic service provided is the annual health screen program that includes blood screenings, biometric screenings and health risk assessments. Additional services include hearing and pulmonary function tests, advanced blood tests, bone density tests and health coaching.

“With some companies, we can offer a phone consult to review the results and recommend referrals for additional services,” Tanya said. “It’s great to have the numbers, but if you don’t understand them, it’s hard to implement change.”

The health coach option provides extra accountability that can really help people start and continue the steps necessary to improve their health. Tanya said the health coach program helps to keep individuals accountable and raises awareness about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With the growing rate of obesity, diabetes and heart disease across the country, Tanya said it’s important that people find the support they need to avoid suffering major health issues.

The health coaches are also available at Campbell County Memorial Hospital and often make visits to businesses to provide one-on-one coaching for more convenience. Individuals typically meet with a health coach two to six times a year depending on their risk level.

“We can go onsite to just about anywhere and that gives us a lot of flexibility,” Tanya said.

By participating in the Corporate Wellness Program, employers can benefit from more managed healthcare costs, less absenteeism and more employee loyalty. Wellness has started to collect wellness data to track how it translates to medical expenses for companies. Tracking that for a couple of years now, Tanya said they’re seeing a direct impact on medical expenses.

“The cost per person for those participating in a wellness program is lower,” Tanya said. “A wellness program is an investment in a company’s most important assets – employees.”

In addition, Wellness has the ability of being able to screen off site at a company location, Tanya said it’s convenient for companies and individuals to participate in the program.

To enroll your business in CCH’s Corporate Wellness Program, contact Tanya at 307-688-8051. You can learn more about the program, and see a list of businesses participating, at www.cchwyo.org/wellness.

Article written by Kim Phagan-Hansel, Wyoming freelance writer