July 17, 2008

In a major effort to keep employees and retirees healthy, Westchester County has launched a health and wellness initiative that should save taxpayers money as well.

The initiative has already begun paying off for employees who participated in an on-site Weight Watchers program: they collectively lost more than a ton and half of weight  – literally – since May. Now the county is turning its attention to helping present and former employees stop smoking.

“They get healthier, we save money – it’s as simple as that,” said County Executive Andy Spano, noting that the government’s costs of providing health benefits to its employees and retirees continues to rise, just as it has in the private sector. “In the end, our employees have a better quality of life and the government has improved worker productivity and lower health costs for our taxpayers.”

This initiative is an extension of a health and wellness program that Spano began a year ago, with a health risk assessment survey for employees and health coaches.

Weight control is a  key way to save on the costs of health care. According to a recent study by Business Week, the annual cost of a business providing health care to a normal- weight employee is $3,254; to a  moderately obese employee, $3,924;  and to a severely obese employee, $5,695.

Major savings are also possible from getting people to stop smoking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, employees who smoke cost their employer about $3,400 a year in lost productivity and medical expenses.

 Here are some highlights of the county’s new program, which is aimed at both present and former employees.

• Weight loss: For 17-weeks beginning in May, POMCO, the administrator of the county’s health benefits, helped to sponsor an in-house Weight Watchers program for employees. It has been an overwhelming success; 450 employees have already lost a total of 3,515  pounds. When the program ends in September, employees will be offered the opportunity to continue with Weight Watchers at work by paying the full cost of the plan themselves, providing there are enough employees interested at the various meeting locations.
  
• Smoking: The county is now teaming up with the American Cancer Society for a program to help people quit. This will be a telephone-based counseling program that includes nicotine replacement therapy. Statistically, this kind of program doubles the odds that a  person quits smoking. Smokers who try to quit on their own or “cold turkey” often fail; for them, the long-term quit rate is only about 5 percent.
  
• Online Wellness Center: This is a one-stop place for employees and retirees to find  information about health, wellness, disease prevention and safety tips. The Wellness newsletter will include articles on current health topics.  For example, find answers to the following questions:
  o  What sport is the most dangerous for girls?
  o What should parents do to calm their nerves (and keep busy) when their kids go to college?
  o What do giggling, sewing and strenuous exercise have in common?
  o What is giardia infection and how do you prevent it?