Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's (INEL) Health Promotion Program, conducted under its Occupational Medical Program, won a 1994 Office of Personnel Managemen Director's Award for Outstanding Employee Health Services Programs on September 12, 1994, at a Baltimore, MD, ceremony. INEL, who shared the stage with the Departments of Interior and Army, was selected from forty-five Federal nominees. The Director's Award recognizes Federal organizations that establish or significantly improve their employee health programs using innovative, cost-effective strategies.
Most notably, the 3-year-old program integrates the services of each employee wellness program offered by nine different site residents_DOE's Idaho Operations Office (ID), the Department of Defense, and seven INEL contractors_into one site-wide occupational medicine program. Approximately 4,000 employees (37 percent of the total INEL population) participate in the program, up from 2,000 in 1993. The program aims to provide the best preventive services and health education on issues such as smoking, weight management, nutrition, cholesterol, and risk assessment, focusing on how long-term health effects impact the individual employee.
"We looked at the messages employees received about exercise, nutrition, and regular check-ups," explained Program Director Evan Thomas (LITCO), "and determined that we needed to concentrate on lifestyle changes rather than target heart rates or cholesterol levels." Further analysis revealed that employees hesitated to use preventive services for several reasons, primarily expensive healthcare costs.
In response, INEL changed its approach to preventive care benefits and payments, and made preventive services more accessible. Instead of depending on smoking support groups, for example, INEL now offers benefits where employees can pay for the "patch," an over-the-counter product to help smokers wean themselves from nicotine, on a limited basis. These changes, in addition to enforcing no smoking policies in site buildings and vehicles, helped reduce the site smoking rate from 22 to 10 percent in the past 2 1/2 years.
INEL also developed an inhouse health risk assessment which an employee may opt to take during a routine physical exam. The health risk assessment heightens the employee's awareness of personal health problems and identifies their needs and acceptance level of suggested lifestyle changes.
The OPM award recognized INEL's creative consolidation of program resources and efforts. The key to a cohesive program, says Dr. Thomas, is site-wide consensus on the program's goal_here, getting health information out to the employees. INEL's Health Promotion Program ended duplication of effort and expense, for example, by shelving health awareness videos at one site library. The result: Reduced costs and better distribution of services.
Representatives from each site resident's wellness program participate in the INEL Health Promotion Program Committee. The Committee meets monthly to plan site-wide activities and report company-specific accomplishments. The representatives then relay the updates to their own companies after the meeting.
By far, the most important component of the Program is education and awareness, says Jim Jones, Group Manager for Occupational Safety and Health at ID. Employees regularly attend brown bag lunches to learn about improving their quality of life and preventing illnesses that keep them away from the job. In fact, one contract employer charted a reduction in absenteeism and injury/illness rates.
Other site-wide statistics indicate that INEL's emphasis on lifestyle change has positively impacted employee health. Based on the health risk assessments performed on about 1,300 employees, INEL documented significant decreases in blood pressures, cholesterol levels, fat intake, and body weight over 24 months.
"Walk Around the Site" and "Reach Your Peak" are two programs under the Health Promotion Program that support employee initiative. In "Walk Around the Site," employees were encouraged to walk over 125 miles over several months beginning in 1992. Employees who completed a certain number of miles received T-shirts or water bottles. Other incentives include recognition in the Health Promotion newsletter, highlighting employees who make significant lifestyle changes.
Based on these initial successes, where is the Health Promotion Program going in the future? Dr. Thomas indicated that the program will concentrate on the 10-20 percent of employees who resist getting involved at all. These people, he adds, really need occupational medicine services and eventually impact healthcare at the national level. For more information on INEL's Health Promotion Program, contact Jim Jones (ID) at (208) 526-0237 or Evan Thomas (LITCO) at (208) 526-6929.
TIS