Princeton Chamber gets prescription for wellness

Business update

By: Victoria Hurley-Schubert – Staff Writer
Focusing on wellness and preventative care helps employers improve the health of their bottom line. Corporate wellness programs, which focus on improving physical and mental health, help to reduce costs, decrease absenteeism, improve worker satisfaction and increase productivity, said Dr. Per Falk, associate professor, vice president, clinical development, medical & regulatory affairs at Novo Nordisk during a Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Before Business breakfast on last week.
Healthcare spending has increased $150 billion per year, a 50 percent increase over the past 10 years. This translates to an estimated $50 billion in direct medical costs and productivity to employers.
One of the leading causes of health problems is obesity, or having a body mass index over 30. "This is a serious condition because obesity is a risk factor for many conditions, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension," said Dr. Falk. "This drives a lot of the challenges that the U.S. sees with healthcare."
Thirty three percent, or more than 72 million, Americans have a BMI over 30, with the most being 40 to 59 years old. "That’s at a time when you’re at your peak with experience, so it really affects the workforce," he said. "If we look at the total cost in productivity and employers, people with obesity loose close to 40 million more work days from disability, long and short term sick leave, than people who have a normal weight."
Weight loss for medical benefit is more modest than weight loss for cosmetic purposes. Dr. Falk emphasized how even a five percent weight loss is enough to improve health and improve productivity. Poor employee health, especially those with chronic conditions, cost employers more than $13,000 per year for employers to manage in direct medical costs and productivity loss. The biggest costs are productivity and indirect costs, such as training new people, he said.
Depression is the most expensive condition for employers to cope with. Dr. Falk also encouraged screening programs, which do cost more up front, but pay off in the long run. "When you screen, you find things that need to be taken care of," he said, but also learn about issues that can be taken care of before they become large problems that interfere with worker productivity or attendance. Every dollar invested in wellness saves $5, but it takes time to see the savings, about five to six years.
"You do preventative care for your car to prevent problems-imagine if you did that for your body," said Ed Cenkner with Brown Dog Marketing. "If you get people in a program early, they won’t be in the hospital or need medication."
Healthcare examples need to come from the top down, said Dr. Falk.
The company anti-smoking policy at Princeton Junction-based Greenleaf Painters is an example of this practice. "It improves productivity because they are working not smoking," said Jonathan C. Shenk, owner. "It improves their health, they’re not taking sick days due to health complications from smoking." Some attendees will be taking Dr. Falk’s top-down message home with them. "I’m going to keep exercising, I started a program over the summer," said Eric Kollevoll, of Kollevoll & Associates in Pennington. "I’m starting in the home. I can have more of an impact there and I can make a difference, I want to set the example for my children."