Somerset County Chambers of Commerce Wellness Council (SCCWC) is a network of health care providers, area businesses and organizations committed to creating and maintaining low-cost/no-cost wellness programs. The goal of the council is to assist your small business in making the workplace a safer and healthier place to work. These programs are designed to support the proactive health care of the employees/members, their families and the community. Workplace wellness programs can be used by both large corporations and small business owners as a beneficial tool to improve employees' health and reduce various health risks.

DID YOU KNOW?
Mattson-Koffman et al., in a 2005 review of worksite literature, cited the following strategies as key components in the makeup of comprehensive programs for the prevention of heart disease and stroke:

• Environmental interventions to support healthy lifestyles
• Corporate policies that support healthy lifestyles
• Frequent and simple prevention messages
• Health education classes, workshops, medical self-care
• Screenings, health risk appraisals (HRAs) and referral leading to risk factor follow-up education and counseling

The program components listed above, when utilized in a worksite health management program, are effective at reducing employee health risks. In the framework presented below, the components from above are considered "approaches' while the evidence-based practices will be considered "strategies". Healthy Workforce 2010, a health promotion sourcebook that outlines goals for improving workplace health, offers four reasons to invest in health promotion:

1. The improvement of productivity through the reduction of health risks, absenteeism, and the improvement of job satisfaction.

2. Lowering health care costs. 

3. Enhancing the corporate image and long-term interests by promoting a healthy lifestyle inside the workplace as well as outside.

4. Helping the nation to reach its health objectives by 2010.

Several meta-analyses have shown that the utilization of comprehensive worksite health management programs effectively reduce employee health risks and generate a $3-$6 savings for each dollar spent in medical bills.