Heart healthy employees keep your business on track

Workplace Wellness:
Small worksites can make big improvements to employee health

Did You Know?
Heart disease and stroke are among the leading causes of death. High blood pressure and high cholesterol put individuals at high risk for these health conditions. You can’t tell who has high blood pressure or high cholesterol just by looking at them, but about one of three U.S. adults have high blood pressure!

Cardiovascular disease is America’s costliest disease. Heart disease and stroke cost approximately $330 billion each year in medical expenses and lost productivity from premature death. Indirect costs—including missed workdays— cost about $237 billion each year, including $42 billion for high blood pressure alone.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Since February is American Heart Health Month, we thought we would share with you this information from the U.S. CDC’s Workplace Health Resource Center. You can find it and other helpful workplace health and wellness resources online at https://nccd.cdc.gov/WHRC.

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On average, an employee with cardiovascular disease costs his or her employer over a week in absences and $1,100 more on lost productivity each year than an employee without cardiovascular disease.

Heart-Healthy employees have better morale, miss less work, and are more productive than less healthy employees. Fortunately, employers can help employees maintain their heart health.

Helping Employees Monitor Blood Pressure…
The director of the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library in St. Joseph, Missouri, decided that it was important to build a strong wellness program because many employees were age 50 or older and at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The program, “Health Matters,” was guided by an employee committee that assessed employee health and the work environment. The committee used the assessment results to create a health improvement plan and to identify wellness strategies. For example, they provided a blood pressure monitor and tracking cards onsite so employees with high blood pressure could monitor their status while at work.

Employers: There Is Something You Can Do!
Employee wellness activities do not have to cost a lot. Here are three simple things you can do to improve employee hearth health:

• Implement policies that prohibit workplace smoking;
  
• Provide healthy foods in vending machines; and,
  
• Implement a flextime policy so employees can take breaks for physical activity and/or health needs (e.g., blood pressure monitoring, medical appointments) during the day.
  

For more information, please visit the websites of these resources: the U.S. CDC Workplace Health Resource Center; the Million Hearts Employer Action Guide; and, the Million Hearts Employer Partner Opportunities.

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When employees feel good, they tend to perform better. That’s why most Chamber BlueOptions plans come with employee discounts on health products and services, as well as an online health and fitness program. Just contact your Anthem-appointed insurance producer for more information or visit the Chamber’s BlueOptions web page to find a producer. For more information on the Chamber BlueOptions health plan, please contact Mark Ellis by calling (207) 623-4568, ext. 107, or by emailing mellis@mainechamber.org.