Health on a Macrocosmic Scale

BY LONNA WHITING

As a 36-year-old, (ahem) middle-aged woman, I consider myself a pretty fit and healthy person. I know my blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index (BMI). I can pass a vigorous fitness test, thanks to years of attending group exercise classes, following an intense yoga practice and training for running events.

I also eat a mostly vegetarian diet, supplementing fish a few times a week to get some good omega fatty acids. I’m not bragging. It’s just that I’m trying to stave off a family history of colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease.

So when I joined the team at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and learned about all the programs that encourage employees to take walks on their lunch breaks, try “mindful” lunch items in the cafeteria or track water intake, I thought to myself, “That’s not for me. I already do all that.”

I was wrong.

Worksite wellness isn’t just defined by how often you take walking meetings or how many servings of veggies you can eat at lunch. Worksite wellness is about seeing health on a macrocosmic scale. Worksite wellness focuses not only on my physical health, but also on my financial, emotional, social, professional and environmental health.

If you’re an employer or your company’s human resources representative, navigating all the wellness incentives in your company’s total compensation plans can get confusing. But the more you know, the better you’re able to empower your company’s employees to embrace worksite wellness and create an environment of health, wellness and happiness at work.

Where to Start

Check North Dakota Worksite Wellness (ndworksitewellness.org) to learn about a great starting point for employer groups to get a better understanding of what’s possible with a worksite wellness program. The site helps identify plans and programs that would work best for their employees.

Also, twice a year, the program offers Worksite Wellness Summits around the state that bring together all kinds of employers to learn and practice wellness techniques they can take back to the office.

BCBS Offerings

Health Club Credit: Health Club Credit is a program that requires members to attend their gym just 12 times a month and they’ll get rebates on their membership fees.

HealthyBlue: Another program is a personalized member portal called HealthyBlue, which also is accessible via smartphone and can sync to popular personal health devices like FitBit and Garmin.

BlueElements: Built upon the foundation that good health reaches beyond the absence of disease, BCBSND’s BlueElements is the springboard for six intersecting dimensions of well-being: physical, social, emotional, financial, professional and environmental.

BCBSND employer groups have the opportunity to implement dozens of BlueElements wellness and health programs, which will help contribute to employees experiencing a fuller, richer, more intentional life at work and at home. Following are the BlueElement fundamentals:

Physical elements:

• Onsite screenings

• Online assessment

• Online and on-site workshops and resources

• Workplace flu shots

• Health Club Credit

• Health coaching

• HealthyBlue trackers

• Nurseline

Social elements:

• Online and on-site workshops

• Virtual libraries

• Online challenges

• Health coaching

• Health Club Credit

Emotional elements:

• Online and on-site workshops

• Virtual libraries

• Health coaching

Financial elements:

• Health plan and pharmacy designed for employers

• Online and on-site workshops

• Participating provider directory

• MyPrime Rx Tool

• Specialty drug management

• Ancillary insurance

• Blue Rewards

Professional elements:

• Worksite Wellness Summits

• Training

• Education forums for employers

• Worksite Wellness Toolkit

• Well Workplace awards

Environmental elements:

• Organizational wellness consulting

Bringing it All Together

“We know that there is no other place in your life that you spend more time during the week than at the worksite, so there is a really great opportunity to influence individuals’ health at the worksite,” says Pete Seljevold, administrator for BCBSND’s Worksite Wellness Initiative.

Like most everyone, I spend about 45 hours of my week at work. While I can’t speak for the rest of us, I can say for myself that I’d prefer those 45 hours are spent in an environment that encourages enhancing the many elements that make up health and wellness.

PB

That’s a lifestyle everyone can benefit from.

Lonna Whiting Editor, Public Affairs,

Blue Cross

Blue Shield of North Dakota Fargo,

N.D. 701.277.2561 lonna.whiting@BCBSND.com