Cleveland, OH,
08
February
2017
|
15:24 PM
America/New_York

Healthy Ohio Business Council Honors MetroHealth for Healthy Practices

The System won a Healthy Ohio Gold Award for healthy worksite practices

The Ohio Department of Health and the Healthy Ohio Business Council (HOBC) recently awarded The MetroHealth System a Healthy Ohio Gold Award, the first time the system has earned the top honor for the MetroHealthy initiative and healthy worksite practices.MetroHealth was recently honored along with 87 other Ohio employers during the 13th annual Healthy Ohio Healthy Worksite Awards ceremony. These awards recognize Ohio employers who demonstrate a commitment to employee wellness through comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness programs. Applicants are scored on the extent their wellness programs facilitate and encourage employee health, enhance productivity and ensure a healthy work environment.“MetroHealth is committed to leading the way to a healthier community, which includes the overall well-being of our employees" said Debbie Warman, vice president, human resources. "The MetroHealthy initiative is designed to ensure that employees have the resources they need to help them focus on wellness and health.” In 2016, 78% of benefit-eligible employees participated in the MetroHealthy Wellness Initiative, with 48% receiving either the $200 or $600 health care premium reduction or Health Reimbursement Account dollars. This was a 10% increase in overall participation from 2015. Other statistics from last year's program include the following:

  • Online health assessment data shows a positive shift in healthy habits and behaviors over the last four years (2013-2016), especially in the areas of nutrition, exercise and stress management.
  • Employees who have participated in the MetroHealthy program from year one to year two have shown improvement in the areas of nutrition, exercise and stress management, and are sustaining those improvements if they participate for a third year.
  • Employees who participated in Weight Watchers at Work lost an average 5.8 pounds per person.
  • More than 1,000 employees are members of Metrocize (onsite fitness center.)

“We are very excited that MetroHealthy has received gold status for the first time. The MetroHealthy team has worked hard to increase the participation and the impact of the MetroHealthy Program on the health and well-being of employees,” said Eileen Seeholzer, MD, the initiative’s medical director. “This year, we hope MetroHealthy will further support participants’ well-being and extend this impact to family members and employees who are not yet involved.”“Health and wellness efforts result in significant benefits for both employers and employees,” David Cowden, Chair of HOBC said. “Positive returns on investment are realized for an employee who improves his or her health and the employer who realizes reductions in healthcare costs and an overall increase in productivity and job satisfaction.”MetroHealth earned the Healthy Ohio Silver Award for the past two years, and the bronze award in 2014.