In 2010, the City of Greenville in eastern North Carolina opted to self-insure its 850 employees. The city asked its insurance carrier, Cigna Health Care, to implement a wellness initiative. After offering a $25 incentive encouraging people to participate, just 23 percent of the city’s employees completed a health screening and health risk assessment. In a follow-up report, Cigna gave city leaders jaw-dropping findings, including the fact that 76 percent of the city’s workforce was at risk in three areas of health or more, and that city employee medical claims were increasing at a rate of $1 million per year.
“We had a wellness program, but we lacked a standard, a target to reach and the steps to take to achieve that standard,” says Frank Salvato, Greenville’s Human Resource Specialist. “Success was more than just encouraging employee engagement. Health policies established by the city’s management gave us the direction needed and set a course for all to follow.”
With new urgency, the city partnered with Prevention Partners, the Chapel Hill-based non-profit. Its WorkHealthy America initiative established standards for nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation and the overall culture. “This broadened our perspective and challenged us to make changes,” said Salvato.
Data from the first three years of the city’s concentrated wellness initiative demonstrate reasons for any organization considering wellness programs:
- Medical costs have decreased 14.8%
- Costs decreased for nearly all major disease categories except cancer
- Emergency room utilization decreased by 9%
- Cigna’s clinical advocacy program identified 57.7% of the city’s employees for assistance and engaged 45% of them.
“The culture of individuals taking more responsibility for a healthier lifestyle is taking hold,” Salvato says. “We have seen a rippling effect as families participate in our wellness activities and events. Involvement in community events creates belonging and encouragement as our employees see other community members involved in achieving a healthier lifestyle.”
Healthy Places Change Lives is a partnership between the N.C. Department of Commerce and Prevention Partners, a nonprofit based in Chapel Hill. Prevention Partners guides schools, workplaces, hospitals and clinics to address the leading causes of preventable disease. The non-profit’s Healthy Together NC initiative aims to reach at least 10 organizations in all 100 counties of the state by 2025. Learn more at ForPrevention.org/HealthyTogetherNC