C-Fit Wellness Program wins gold

Community employees take part in a group "Bike to Work" ride from Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital to Community Regional Medical Center. From left to right: Steve Walter, Elaine Fraijo, Tim Brown, Matt Tenyenhuis, Kara Tontz, Jack Chubb, Paul Smith, John Anderson, Adam Sheppard, Nikol Peevy, Brenna Hughes, Christine Damon and Courtney Young.

The C-Fit Community Wellness Program has been named California’s only 2008 Gold-Level Well Workplace Award winner. This award places the program among the top in the country. C-Fit aims to help Community Medical Centers employees reach their health goals.

According to the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA), gold level recognizes organizations developing comprehensive programs that produce results.

Since C-Fit started in May 2007, Community has seen a decrease of more than $2 million in  claims against its health insurance and pharmaceutical costs, a 16.5% drop in emergency room visits by employees, and 4 to 7% improvements in employees’ cardiac , diabetes and cancer risk indicators.

C-Fit focuses on preventive care and promotes healthy living by using employees’ Health Risk Assessments to identify and treat unknown conditions proactively. Wellness advocates coach employees individually to reach health goals and C-Fit offers incentives for employees to participate in recreation, nutrition, exercise and education programs.

“C-Fit is designed to meet the needs of our employees,” said Ginny Burdick, Community’s senior vice president of human resources. “It is also designed to help contain the costs of our employee benefit programs so that we can continue to offer these programs.  Last year when the majority of employers across the country were cutting benefits and passing on more costs to their employees, we were pleased to be able to expand the benefits provided by our self-insured health plan, while decreasing costs for employees.”

Vicki Anderson, Community's vice president for managed care, and her husband Bob enjoy a C-Fit Wellness Program canoe trip.

Burdick added, “Having our employees more aware of issues that affect their health and ways to maintain good health habits keeps employees at work and productive – and improves their lives.”

Rex Wilcox, manager of C-Fit is thrilled to see the program impact Community’s employees. 

“Receiving this award truly is a testament to the hard work and dedication of C-Fit’s wellness advocates and staff to offer the best program and services to the employees of Community Medical Centers. It is that commitment to excellence that makes our program one of the best in the country,” Wilcox said.

As of early 2009, about 40% of Community’s eligible employees – 2,067 employees – have enrolled. More than 5,000 employees have participated in a C-Fit-sponsored program or activity as well as attended a C-Fit presentation on varying health topics and medical consumerism.

C-Fit has made nearly 300 referrals to Community-based programs for diabetes care, asthma education, smoking cessation, Weight Watchers at Work, free confidential counseling services and Santé Community Physicians.

The wellness program recently began offering a line of retail services to the general public that have contributed to the success of many employees’ weight loss goals. The public, through physician referrals, can take advantage of C-Fit’s registered dietitians for individual nutritional counseling, learn stress reduction techniques through HeartMath™ coaching and use SenseWear® technology to figure out just how much activity and what kind of food will move them to their goals. C-Fit is also offering grocery store tours with registered dietitians to help people decipher food labels, find healthy foods on a budget and shop with the diabetic or cardiac patient in mind.

C-Fit’s new weight-management technology, SenseWear, uses tiny computer sensors on an arm band to record caloric expenditure, daily steps and sleep efficiency. Users log their daily intake online. By comparing the daily food diary that weight-management clients upload into their computers against their activity levels, C-Fit advocates can help design meal choices and suggest exercise plans to meet health goals. 

Many Community employees ventured out for a daylong snowshoeing trip in the nearby Sierras in February.

“I’ve lost weight. Either from being part of C-Fit or part of this SenseWear program they started,” said Peggy Grant, an organizational development consultant at Community Medical Centers. She’s dropped two dress sizes and gained extra energy in just a few months.
C-Fit has also been working with a few local companies to institute the same sort of wellness program in their workplace with hopes of improving their employees’ health, boosting job satisfaction and decreasing sick days and health insurance costs.

A physically active employee costs $400 less per month than an inactive employee, the American Journal of Health Promotion says. A study that reviewed 32 corporate wellness programs found a 62.5% decline in hospital admissions as well as a 24.8% decline in incidence of injury. According to a 2008 report by Prevention for a Healthier America, investing in disease prevention can ultimately save America more than $16 billion in five years. 

WELCOA is a resource for workplace wellness in America, and is built around a set of the following beliefs:

• Healthcare costs are an issue of significant concern.
• A healthy workforce is essential to America's continued growth and prosperity.
• Much of the illness in the U.S. is directly preventable.
• The workplace is an ideal setting to address health and well-being.
• Workplace wellness programs can transform corporate culture and change lives.

To become a member of this award-winning wellness program, please visit http://www.cfitwellness-solutions.com/ or call (559) 459-1888.

This story was reported by Joann Mercado. She can be reached at jmercado@communitymedical.org. Deeann Tozlian and Erin Kennedy also contributed to this story.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009