1. WorkWell Kansas: A Partnership
for Worksite Health Promotion
Missty Lechner
Worksite Wellness Specialist
Kansas Department of Health and Environment

2. Presenters
• Missty Lechner
▫ Kansas Department of Health and Environment
• Dr. Elizabeth Ablah
▫ University of Kansas School of Medicine- Wichita
• Chad Clark
▫ McPherson Healthcare Foundation, Inc
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

3. 3
Community Initiative on Cardiovascular
Health and Disease
• 14 Employers - 400,000 lives - 2005-2009
• All Stakeholder Collaboration, including:
▫ Employers, Chamber of Commerce, IHPM, NBCH
▫ Public Health: CDC, States of Kansas and Missouri
▫ Providers, AAFP, AHA
▫ Regional and National Health Plans
▫ Pharmaceutical Industry
• Focus on Primary and Secondary Prevention
▫ Hypertension, Cholesterol, Smoking, Inactivity, Nutrition,
Metabolic Syndrome
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

4. 4
CICV Work Site Component:
Baseline Surveys (2006, re-measured 2011):
▫ Leadership Survey
▫ Heart Healthy Lifestyles Employee Attitudinal Survey
▫ Employer Worksite Wellness Environment Inventory
▫ Cardiovascular Health Plan Benefit Design Survey
▫ Productivity Measurements
▫ Available health risk Data
 “Connecting the Dots”
 Medical Claims Analysis
 Health Risk Appraisals
 Medical Screenings
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

5. Planning Committee
• Employers
• Local Health Departments
• Business Coalitions
• Payers
• State Health Department
• Healthcare
• Academia
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

6. KDHE Assessment Tool
• Up to 72 questions
• Organizational level assessment
• Takes about 45 minutes to complete
• Customized feedback given to worksites based
upon assessment results
• Tested and piloted
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

7. Assessment Implementation
• Who champions this in communities?
• How does word get out?
• Is there a systematic way of providing education
to employers?
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

8. WorkWell: The Beginning
• Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care
received private funding
• KDHE already had the assessment developed
• Each partner had parallel missions, similar but
unique areas of expertise, and resources for
worksite wellness
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

9. Questions
Missty Lechner
Worksite Wellness Specialist
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
785-296-1917
mlechner@kdheks.gov
Our Vision - Healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments

10. WorkWellKS

11. WorkWell Kansas
 KansasHealth Foundation is providing
three years of funding for groups to
convene around this initiative.
 Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care
is leading the state-wide initiative.
 Workshops in participating communities,
built around an assessment tool.

12. WorkWell Kansas
 WorkWell Kansas was designed around
“evidence” in the literature and best
practices.
 Kansas Department of Health and
Environment funded the development of the
tool.
 University of Kansas School of Medicine-
Wichita, Department of Preventive Medicine
and Public Health developed the curriculum.

13. Goal
Increase the number of business and
community leaders that are actively
engaged in supporting, initiating, and
implementing worksite wellness programs to
facilitate the creation of workplace policies
and/or incentives in these communities that
make it easier for employees to adopt
healthier behaviors.

14. WorkWell Kansas
3 years
 30 communities (10 each year)
 At least 1 champion per community
 210 worksites

15. WorkWell Kansas
Champions
 Each year, 10 “champions” are recruited
and trained.
 Eachchampion is asked to recruit 7
worksites.
 Task identified as an adaptive challenge.

16. WorkWell Kansas Worksites
Can receive up to $1,000 in mini-grant funds
after the worksite has:
1. completed the assessment (and received
feedback)
2. completed the WorkWell Kansas workshop
3. an approved worksite wellness plan
Many tasks are identified as adaptive
challenges.

17. Purpose
 Introduce a framework for worksites to use
in integrating holistic health promotion
and wellness into complex cultures.
 Enhance capacity and support worksites
in creating a sustained culture of health.

18. Purpose
 Increase the number of community
leaders and businesses engaged in
supporting comprehensive worksite
wellness initiatives.
 Facilitate the implementation of policies
and environmental changes to make it
easier for employees to be healthier,
including eating healthfully and being
physically active.

19. Purpose
 Expose participants to information, tools,
and strategies to develop and integrate a
comprehensive wellness strategy into an
organization’s long-term business strategy.
 Provideresources and technical
assistance for participants to develop and
implement worksite wellness plans for their
organizations.

20. Intent of Initiative
So the healthy choice is the easy choice!

21. Is it Just Business?
Is worksite wellness treated like any other
business issue?
 Good for culture?
 Fun?
 Reduce healthcare costs?
 Attract and retain employees?
 Important for health?
 Increase productivity?
 Increase profitability?

22. Traditional Worksite Wellness
 Worksitewellness has historically centered on
behavior change using a cognitive model.
 Cognitive models center on education and
the provision of information.
 Cognitiveapproaches place the responsibility
for change solely on the employee.
(Golaszewski, 2008)

23. Traditional Worksite Wellness
Approach
 Centered on a single issue (e.g. tobacco
cessation).
 Illuminating risks about certain health behaviors.
 Featured carrot or stick approach to wellness in
behavioristic model.
 Been largely ‘one-and-done’ type programs.

24. Traditional Worksite Wellness
Examples*
 Some traditional worksite wellness programs have
been tied to national events (Great American
Smoke Out) and are centered on raising
awareness.
 Other approaches have sought to capitalize on
popular media and used programs similar to The
Biggest Loser.
 Some take a plug and play approach - a national
program is implemented from management to
employees.

25. Traditional Model
 Relies on program development and delivery
 Relies
on information/education to prompt
behavior change
 Focuses on individual behavior change

26. Traditional Model
 Mosttraditional approaches lack in
duration and comprehensiveness.
 Mosttraditional approaches are not based
on best practices or “evidence”

27. How Do We Change?
 Behavior change is complex.
 Knowledge is necessary, but insufficient for
change.
 How do we alter our behaviors?
 Macro forces influence us; we are all parts of
a greater whole.

28. Social Ecological Model

29. Paradigm Shift
 Employees will change behaviors as a
reflection of the changing characteristics
of their worksites.
 Create a healthy work environment.
 Organizational health promotion.

30. Philosophy
 Change the culture of worksites.
 Begin with the employer, not the employee.
 Not“good” and “bad.” Not “right” and
“wrong.”
 Whatare our goals, what does the literature
suggest?

32. Strategic Framework
 Framework to guide development and
initial evaluation of worksite’s plans

34. Reasons to
squeeze the
orange!
• For every $1 spent on wellness, companies
save $3.48 on health care and $5.82 in
regards to absenteeism.
•The cost of health care has increased 274
times what it was in 1950 even though the
average cost of all other goods and services
increased only 8 times.
•Chronic diseases account for 75% of health
care spending.
•Source: Wellness Council of America

35. What is the Full Cost of Health?

36. Choose Wellness?

37. Employee Benefits
Weight reduction
Improved physical fitness
Increased stamina
Lower levels of stress
Improved self-image and self-esteem

38. Employer Benefits
Enhanced recruitment and retention
Reduced healthcare costs
Decreased rates of illness and injury
Reduced absenteeism
Increased productivity
Improved employee relations

39. Results
Reduced healthcare costs by 20% to 55%
Reduced short-term sick leave by 6% to 32%
Increased productivity by 2%-52%
Sourced by U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Service

40. Return on Investment
Hospital admissions declined by 62.5%
Disability costs reduced by 34.4%
Claims costs were reduced by 27.8%
Physician visits declined by 16.5 %
Sourced by Aurora Healthcare 2005

43. `