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Archive for April, 2009

Instituting a workplace wellness program improves the health of employees, decreases employee absenteeism and saves the company money, too. Learn more about starting an employee wellness program in the office.

Read more: “Workplace Wellness Programs: Corporate Fitness Plans Improve Employee Health and Wellness” – http://health-insurance.suite101.com/article.cfm/workplace_wellness_programs#ixzz0E0Iv1SZs&A

A company investment of $100-$150 per employee each year to participate in an employee wellness program can save companies $300 to $450 for each employee every year, according to Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies. The savings can take a few years to actualize, says Goetzel, and are seen in reduced health expenditures.

Read more: “Workplace Wellness Programs: Corporate Fitness Plans Improve Employee Health and Wellness” – http://health-insurance.suite101.com/article.cfm/workplace_wellness_programs#ixzz0E0IMXbO7&A

read full article for more information at:  http://health-insurance.suite101.com/article.cfm/workplace_wellness_programs

Alabamians Lose Almost 200,000 Pounds – Read Full Press Release
For more information: Miriam Gaines, Alabama Department of
Public Health, (334) 206-5649 or
Rosemary Blackmon, Alabama Hospital Association, (800) 489-2542

More than 40,000 Alabamians participated in Scale Back Alabama, the state’s annual weightloss
competition. Led by Coach Roger Shultz, a former University of Alabama football player
and a finalist on the 2008 Biggest Loser Couples Show, the event resulted in 183,135 pounds lost
statewide since the beginning of January.

Bad Boys, a team of state employees from Montgomery County, won the grand prize of $1,000
per team member. The first-place team members included Elbert Taylor, Travis Thompson,
Roland Roberts, Jr., and Morris Harris.

Names of all teams on which each person lost at least 10 pounds during the contest were placed
in a drawing for cash prizes and drawn live today via satellite broadcast and Webcast. In
addition to the team drawings, the names of individuals who lost at least 10 pounds, even though
their team members did not, were included in a separate drawing for individual prizes.
The goal of Scale Back Alabama is to encourage healthy lifestyles,said Donald Williamson,
MD, State Health Officer. Alabama’s the third most obese state in the nation, and we simply
cannot continue our old habits and expect to be healthy.

Roger Shultz, who lost 164 pounds during the 2008 television contest, said “My main message
throughout the contest was to ‘eat less and move more.’ I know; I’ve been there, and I realize
how much better I feel now that I’m watching what I eat and exercising.

Scale Back Alabama is a 10-week contest sponsored by the Alabama Hospital Association and
the Alabama Department of Public Health, with generous underwriting from Barber’s Dairies
and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. This year’s contest was the third such contest in which
teams compete to win prizes and benefit from weekly tips and lesson plans on healthy lifestyles.

The focus of the contest is adults, particularly those in the workplace, but our hope is that their
good habits will also spread to their families,said Donald J. Jones, FACHE, chairman of the
Scale Back Alabama Task Force and CEO of Marion Regional Medical Center in Hamilton.
With almost every county participating, we know the message was widespread, and hopefully
many Alabamians will be healthier as a result.

Other grand prize winners included:
2nd place team winner Three Girls and a Guy, Dichelle Turner, Lynn Hammonds, Margaret
Higgins and Carlos Matkins of Madison County

2nd place team winner Pound Smashers, Dawarris Jackson, Angela Purter, Sayed Alamy, and
Sandra Blakely, state employees from Montgomery County

3rd place team winner Big Dam Losers, Chuck Easterling, John Cochran, Scotty McNeill,
and Lorenzo Lenear, from Alabama Power in Wetumpka

Individual winners will be posted online at www.scalebackalabama.com.
Statistics from Scale Back Alabama 2009:
Total number of people participating  40,772
Total pounds lost statewide  183,135 pounds
Number of teams on which all people lost 10 pounds – 690
Total number of individuals that lost as least 10 pounds 9,701
Average weight loss among those who lost at least 10 pounds  14.22 pounds

This Data Compiled From Press Release From scalebackalabama

Plan Calls for State Employees to Pay More for Health Insurance if They Don’t Lose Weight:

Obese Alabama state workers may soon pay a health insurance penalty for their excess pounds.

Beginning in January 2009, state employees will be required to receive medical screenings for several conditions, including body mass index (BMI). Those who are considered obese — along with exhibiting other negative health factors — will have a year to get in shape.

The penalty for failure? A $25 increase in their monthly insurance costs.

Although critics view the penalty as a “fat tax,” Alabama officials believe the new policies will result in fitter, healthier, and happier employees — as well as help reduce the state’s mounting health care costs.

Read The Entire Article At http://www.webmd.com