September 2007 GULFSHORE BUSINESS 39

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SHAPE UP!How employers entice workers to improve their health.

By Rob Esmond with reporting by Jill Tyrer

HEN CAROLYN SHAW HEADS TO THE FEDEX BOX THESE DAYS, SHE TAKES THE LONG WAY. Her boss, Paul Marinelli, does a loop around the office before going in. Their colleagues are taking extra steps, too.

Since the beginning of June, employees at Barron Collier Companies have voluntarily been donning company-sup-plied pedometers for an in-house competition. Those who reach their goal receive prizes, from caps and Subway gift certificates to a weekend at LaPlaya or a day off. It ends in November, coinciding with the Heart Walk in Naples.

“The buy-in has been phenomenal,” says Marinelli. “We have approximately 200 employees that walk around with pedometers on their hips or belts. People are constantly saying, ‘How many [steps] do you have per day?’”

Barron Collier is among the local businesses and organizations taking part in the American Heart Association’s Start! program, designed to build a cul-ture of fitness in companies. It’s a step toward bet-ter health for employees who might not otherwise take advantage of wellness programs.

“We’ve found that walking is the easiest form of exer-cise to start,” says Teresa Ferrari, of the Collier County AHA chapter. “If you’re doing it within a company with your co-workers, you’ll be more motivated.”

It’s no surprise that most companies want healthy and fit employees. Smoking, drinking and obesity-related illnesses cost employers in terms of rising insurance costs and productivity loss from absenteeism and lower performance levels.

According to the Florida Department of Health, 60.7 percent of Florida adults are overweight or obese, and adult obesity-related illnesses account for 5.1 percent—

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40 GULFSHORE BUSINESS September 2007

nearly $4 billion—of the total annual medical expendi-tures in the state. More than half of that is paid through Medicare and Medicaid. A recent study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health predicts that, if obe-sity rates continue climb-ing at the current rate in the United States, 75 per-cent of adults and almost 24 percent of chil-dren will be obese in eight years, by 2015.

Obesity alone has cost the United States $12.7 billion annually in medical expenses and $225.8 billion in lost productivity, according to a 2003 report in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Employees feel the effects of an unhealthy country through higher insurance costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

“Obesity really is something that is looked at for [insurance] rates,” says Pete Embry, an insurance bro-ker with a Paychex Inc. agency in New York, who works with small businesses in Southwest Florida. In Florida, insurance companies are allowed to charge 15 percent more than the baseline rate (at which everyone in the group is healthy) if someone in the group is obese. (In some states, Embry adds, there is no limit to how much an insurer can up the rate.)

“It’s a group, so everybody in the group gets rated up,” he says.

Soaring healthcare costs and growing attention to lifestyle-related illnesses are putting the spotlight on company efforts to improve employee health as a via-

ble way to control rising costs. Companies might provide workout facili-

ties onsite or membership in fitness centers, per-

sonal coaches, more nutritious snacks,

smok ing-cessa-tion or weight-loss programs, and financial incentives for employees to

reach their goal.At the Bonita

Bay Group Inc., where a wellness com-

mittee of 12 employees plans the company’s wellness

strategy, many employees start on the road to fitness at an annual health fair, co-sponsored by the company’s insurance vendor, where they can receive health assessments and program information, says ben-efits manager Becky Kratt.

The company pays a percentage of the cost for employees and their dependants to quit smoking. It also contributes to membership fees to fitness centers for employees and spouses—and it pays some of the costs for employees to participate in sporting events.

“I’m a runner, and the company will pay for my race fees up to an annual limit,” Kratt says. “How nice is that?”

Marketing director Amy Smith lost 70 pounds with help from the company’s weight-loss incentive pro-gram—provided conveniently onsite and at a 50 per-cent discount. “Other employees who have lost weight no longer need certain prescription medications. That helps reduce their out-of-pocket expenses,” says Kratt.

In addition to lower insurance costs and higher pro-ductivity, fitness programs pay off for companies in terms of employee morale and loyalty, she adds. “Our employees see that we value them.”

Two of Southwest Florida’s largest employers—Lee and Collier county governments—provide a variety of fitness and wellness programs.

Lee County offers its 4,000-plus employees help los-ing weight, quitting smoking and managing stress, says Heather Kearns, who was hired last year as a full-time wellness coordinator. As with many employers, its

The American Heart Association has designed the Start!

program to help organizations create a culture of fitness and

physical activity. A representative from a local chapter visits com-

panies interested in participating, provides a free information kit

and helps set up the program with a team leader. To make it easy

for employees to track the distance they walk, companies are

encouraged to establish a route in or near the workplace.

Many participants also choose to join the annual Heart Walk,

scheduled for Nov. 17 in Naples and Dec. 8 in Fort Myers.

For more information, call (239) 498-9288 or visit www.amer

icanheart.org/start

Start! Walking

“We want our employees to want to participate. The whole thing is to promote awareness. The more aware you are of your lifestyle, the more apt you are to change it.”

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September 2007 GULFSHORE BUSINESS 41

insurance provider offers a wealth of healthcare informa-tion and resources.

Collier County started its wellness program not only to lower healthcare costs, but also to reduce absentee-ism and turnover among its 2,500 employees and increase productivity, says wellness program manager Marilyn Hamachek. “As a result of our overall wellness programs, our annual medical claims in fis-cal year 2006 were reduced by 6 percent [from the previous year],” she says.

Companies can’t force employees to use the fitness benefits they offer, however, so some introduce incentives and friendly competition to sweeten the deal.

Todd Monrad, a director at the Briggs Wellness Center in downtown Naples, is coor-dinating a fitness contest to encourage NCH Healthcare System employees to show up for some cardio and strength training. Prizes go to the five-person team that burns the most calories and lifts the most weight during the six-week program.

“We’re hoping to attract the non-exercising employees and convert them into people who make their own personal health a priority, and not just their patients’ health,” he says.

The key is to make it appealing, says Doug Baird, who is heading up the walking program for Barron Collier Companies. “We want our employees to actively want to participate, and make it fun. The whole thing is to promote awareness. The more aware you are of your lifestyle, the more apt you are to change it.”

The company passed out several hundred pedome-

ters to participating employ-ees, including Shaw, 64, who’s nearly at the 10,000-steps-a-day goal. “I’m not really athletic; I gear more toward stretching,” she says, but “I’m on the move constantly.”

This is not the company’s first foray into employee well-ness. The focus on health began with the realization that some managers were not get-ting regular physicals as they grew older, putting the com-pany’s most valuable assets at risk, says Marinelli.

The company started requiring annual physicals for managers, and as a result, headed off several potentially serious health problems.

“It’s very hard to measure or quantify the results [of pro-moting employee wellness],” Marinelli says. “Intuitively, the healthier people are, the more positive impact it has on insurance costs.” More important, he adds, wellness programs help keep employees healthy and happy.

It can take some time to see the effects of a wellness pro-gram, since it can take several years for health improvements to show up. Healthier employ-ees should see fewer out-of-pocket expenses for doctors’ visits, heart and cholesterol medications and other costs related to inactivity and being overweight. For the company, the financial payoff probably won’t be insurance-rate reduc-tions but smaller increases, and with healthcare costs con-tinuing to escalate, wellness programs are being viewed as a way to control costs.

“Employers know that long term, the more they offer, the rates are going to stay lower [than if they do] noth-ing at all,” says Embry.

On the move: Organized events such as the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk can help motivate employees to get fit.

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Employee benefits: Inspired by a companyprogram, Bonita Bay marketing director Amy Smith lost 70 pounds.

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