HERO May Briefs

UPCOMING EVENTS

HERO Summer Think Tank

Developing Dashboards to Engage Leaders at All Levels
(a free MEMBERS ONLY event)

June 19, 2018 | Edina, MN

Register now and book your hotel room by May 19 to take advantage of a discounted rate.

Join HERO and our special guests at the Summer Think Tank for a day of networking and interactive discussions that will allow you to share your experiences with fellow Think Tank members and collaborate to identify new approaches to developing an effective dashboard.

Learn from subject matter experts how to approach dashboard development and work with stakeholders to understand what metrics matter most.

• Wendy Lynch, PhD, founder, Lynch Consulting Ltd.
• Brad Smith, PhD, vice president reporting and analytics, meQuilibrium
• Bridget Neurer, senior vice president, Aon
• Shelly Wolff, MBA, health & workforce effectiveness leader, Willis Towers Watson

Prepare to be inspired by featured employers as they share their dashboard development journey, including the challenges they faced and how their approach evolved over time.

• Walheed Bahouth, JD, director of associate well-being, Humana
• Robert Carr, MD, MPH, president, American College of Preventive Medicine
• Laura Ellison, MBA, senior manager of Benefits, ADT
• Keith Winick, MA, director of health and wellness & analytics, Prudential Financial

HEROForum18

From the C-Suite to the Shop Floor: Well-being for All

October 2-4, 2018 | Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Health improvement has always required interconnectivity between the organization and its individuals. But the pathways between well-being and business performance are still being forged in both science and practice. Registration is now open for HEROForum18, where we will focus on elevating the conversation in worksite health promotion by bringing new thinking, open and honest disciplined reflection and, as always, innovative new strategies and tools to make well-being possible for all.

Look for session and speaker updates on the Forum website in the weeks ahead.

Don’t delay. Register now and reserve your room to make sure you’re ready.

Need a group rate? Call Karen Moseley at (717) 868-7150. Ready to sponsor? Call Pat Rohner at (919) 948-6160

HERO RESEARCH

New HERO position paper on the value of wellness initiatives

Despite a large and growing evidence base demonstrating the positive outcomes of best-practice health and well-being initiatives, media coverage of occasional studies with negative findings sometimes creates confusion among employers about what really works in wellness.

HERO has collaborated with numerous researchers, consultants, and subject matter experts to develop a commentary to help HERO members better assess research findings by providing tips on how to critically examine research on program effectiveness. The tips are available in a brief executive summary on the HERO blog, and an expanded version applying the tips to the recently published Illinois Workplace Wellness Study is available in the HERO member Think Tank Library.

Improving your business through a culture of health

While the USA is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, it is far from the healthiest. Businesses across the country are looking to adopt a culture of health, a movement that maximizes the well-being of employees, consumers, community, and the environment while accelerating productivity, organizational reputation, and talent management.

Harvard is offering a free online program featuring leading experts from business and public health, including HERO president and CEO Paul Terry, to provide you with tools to adopt a culture of health and transform your organization.

HERO RECOMMENDS

Resources and Readings

Participate now in Conduent’s well-being survey

In order for employees to work well, they often need help to live well. Not surprisingly, more and more employers seek to help employees improve their overall well-being, with a particular emphasis on physical, financial, mental/emotional, professional/career, and social aspects.

Now in its 12th year, Conduent’s Working Well: A Global Survey of Workforce Wellbeing Strategies explores traditional health and wellness, financial well-being, and selected added elements of total well-being. The survey is intended for individuals who are responsible for wellness, health promotion, and/or financial well-being strategy at their company at a global or regional level.

The deadline for completing the survey is May 25. For more information, download the 2016 survey Executive Summary, and visit surveys.hrservices.conduent.com or email GlobalWellbeing@conduent.com.

Webinar: Making mental health in the workplace your business

Employers recognize that untreated mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, lead to costly challenges such as absenteeism, reduced productivity, and increased health care and disability costs. Workplace health promotion programs play a key role in helping employers identify and prevent mental illness and improve employees’ quality of life.

Sponsored by the CDC Workplace Health Resource Center, Ewuria Darley, from the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, will discuss mental health practices in the workplace, current trends, employer roles, strategies for addressing employees’ mental health, and key resources for employers.

Register for the webinar here.

Investing in social services as a core strategy for health care organizations

The impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) as drivers of medical utilization, cost, and health outcomes is widely researched and acknowledged. This growing body of evidence attributes as much as 40 percent of health outcomes to SDOH such as housing, education, poverty, and nutrition and suggests that as much as a third of the deaths in the United States can be accounted for by social factors.

Despite the widespread acknowledgement of the importance of addressing SDOH to improve outcomes and lower medical costs, observed investments tend to be modest in scale and temporary, often funded through time-limited grants or launched as pilots without a long-term strategy. Few healthcare organizations have incorporated the services that target SDOH directly into their ongoing business operations without any requirement of ongoing outside financial support.

Read more in a new report from The Commonwealth Fund and KPMG LLP.

AHA offers grants for improving community health

The American Heart Association recently announced a new accelerator targeted at improving health outcomes in underserved communities. The EmPOWERED To Serve Urban Health Accelerator will support business ideas that can help solve inequality related to health in urban areas. In announcing the initiative, Keith B. Churchwell, MD, who chairs AHA’s Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health Task Force, noted that social conditions and resources present in a community play an important role in residents’ health outcomes, even when those who live there know the steps necessary to live a healthy lifestyle.

The accelerator, which is accepting applications through June 30, will have finalists present their projects at the EmPOWERED To Serve Summit in Baltimore in October. If selected, successful creators could earn as much as $30,000 in grants to support turning the idea into a reality. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet with stakeholders from around the country — including local AHA leaders, community leaders, and corporations.

MEMBER PROFILE

Leah Holzwarth

Throughout 2018, each edition of HERO Briefs will include a member profile with answers to three questions we believe will interest HERO members.

Our May member profile features Leah Holzwarth, manager, health and wellness, at Wespath Benefits and Investments.

Q: Can you share a story about a grassroots leader who is helping you advance well-being in your organization?

A: A new and exciting initiative throughout the United Methodist Church (UMC) is Hoopalooza. Not exactly what you think of when thinking of workplace well-being and a religious organization. It is part of the UMC’s Abundant Health program to get congregations and communities moving. Hula hoops provide a fun and challenging way to get moving, and it’s a core workout because of the activity and the laughter. Congregations have access to videos, promotional materials and ideas of how to incorporate the hoop into church and community activities.

Q: Can you share a story about an executive leader who is helping you advance well-being in your organization?

A: Martin Bauer, Sr. managing director, benefit plans, is helping to advance well-being at Wespath and the UMC. Now that the weather is warmer, he will hold walking meetings or just get out for a quick stroll around the building. The Wespath office has a great walking trail (not quite a mile), and he can be seen getting out for a few minutes between meetings. He is also supportive of building relationships and collaboration on how to make well-being programs accessible, easy to understand and fun. The ultimate goal is a positive participant experience which results in engaged and improved well-being.

Q: What’s on your personal reading list that you’d recommend to fellow HERO members?

A: On my professional development reading list for this summer are a two books: The first is

Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis by Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell and Jason Byassee. As someone who is tackling the complicated arena of how to improve clergy health — body, mind and spirit — this new book combines the research and insights on clergy health. The other book on my professional reading list is Managing for Resilience: A Practical Guide for Employee Wellbeing and Organizational Performance, edited by Monique F. Crane, PhD. I feel the link between well-being and organizational performance is huge, and how we can use well-being to build better leaders and teams will go a long way in improving the lives of employees and organizations. On the personal reading list: any good mystery. Let me know! I’m game!