Newswise — The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has introduced a new training program focused on worksite wellness designed for employers, human resource (HR) professionals, benefits managers, insurance brokers, and occupational and environmental health (OEH) professionals. Developed by leading medical experts/HR professionals, and based on their own experience, the program is intended to help build bridges among all stakeholders by presenting a step-by-step approach on how to implement a successful worksite wellness program. ACOEM is the leading provider of training for employers and health care professionals who wish to initiate worksite wellness programs.
“Worksite Wellness: The Healthy Worker Advantage,” will be held October 6, 2012, at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, and repeated November 9, at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown in Atlanta. The course is lead by medical experts in workplace wellness – Pamela Hymel, MD, of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts; Ronald Loeppke, MD, of U.S. Preventive Medicine; and Raymond Fabius, MD, of Truven Health Analytics.
The faculty will provide key information derived from their own experience on the relationship between health and productivity including the cost of lost productivity due to “absenteeism” and “presenteeism,” and how to align human resources, benefits, and insurance for the common cause. Attendees will learn to leverage the advantage of a healthy workforce through a step-by-step plan for implementing wellness programs that includes how to estimate total health-related costs using the ACOEM Blueprint for Health, a free on-line calculator.
Health care costs consume one-sixth of the U.S. GDP, accounting for some $2.3 trillion annually in medically related expenditures and significantly more in health-related productivity losses. In fact, more than 130 million Americans have chronic conditions that drive 70% of the total health-related costs.
A worksite wellness program is intended to help reverse these trends by enlightening employers on how to use health and productivity management effectively to reduce the burden of illness, health risks, and health costs. “Companies of any size can reap significant benefits from implementing wellness programs correctly,” said Dr. Fabius. “Investing in health protects, supports, and enhances the quality and quantity of all workers' lives and performance. Because this must be a collaborative effort between the C-suite of employers, HR professionals, benefits managers, insurance brokers, health plan leaders, and occupational professionals, all health care advocates will gain insights on worksite wellness from this course,” he said.
The development of this training program reflects ACOEM’s long-held position that a national focus on improving health care in the workplace is more vital than ever. Since the 1980s, ACOEM has played a major role in articulating the inextricable connection between employee health and productivity. Through original research published in its Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the Blueprint for Health, and its Health and Productivity Toolkit, ACOEM provides the most comprehensive collection of educational material on worksite wellness available.
For more information, call ACOEM at 847/818-1800, or visit www.acoem.org/Courses.aspx.
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About ACOEM — Founded in 1916, ACOEM (www.acoem.org) is an international medical society of more than 4,000 occupational physicians and other health care professionals, that provides leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments.
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