A new workplace wellness program at UNMC will begin soon, and sign-up cards will be mailed to eligible employees this week.
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Employees who want to participate in the SimplyWell program should fill out the designated portion of the sign-up card and place it back in the campus mail. The mailroom will return those cards to the SimplyWell office on campus. The SimplyWell program is free to employees.
“I am hopeful that SimplyWell will improve the overall health of our campus,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “The best time to catch potential illnesses, both for the patient and the health-care providers, is in their earliest stages. This is a program that is designed to do that. With this program, our employees can lead healthier lives.”
The NU Board of Regents approved UNMC as a pilot site for the SimplyWell program earlier this year. Because of this, only UNMC employees covered by the UNMC Blue Cross/Blue Shield medical insurance plan are eligible to participate, and sign-up cards will be sent to only those employees. The first 1,500 such employees who return those cards will be registered to participate.
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After employees return their sign-up cards, they will be sent a Personal Wellness Profile questionnaire. This questionnaire serves as confirmation of the employee’s registration, and it should be filled out before the employee attends a SimplyWell health fair. There are 10 such fairs scheduled for the Omaha campus, and fairs also will be scheduled for employees in Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff.
At the fairs, SimplyWell personnel will measure participants’ blood pressure, height and weight, as well as draw a blood lab for a lipid profile, blood sugar and a complete blood cell count to check for anemia and infection. Participants of the health fairs need to fast – eat or drink nothing – for eight to 10 hours before the lab draw. Participants should continue to take any prescribed medications with a small sip of water. If participants have any medical conditions, such as diabetes, that may be effected by fasting, they should consult their physician before doing so.
Other components of the wellness program include:
- A confidential report mailed to participant’s home address to educate the employee about his or her lifestyle and medical risk factors, as well as identify possible lifestyle changes.
- With authorization, results can be forwarded to a physician
- Follow-up information and educational classes
- Free self-care guides for new participants
SimplyWell strives to improve the health and productivity of employees by identifying people at-risk for injury or disease, and evaluating modifiable health-care costs. SimplyWell emphasizes self-care, increased health and wellness education and continuous personal monitoring.
Eight Omaha companies with 100 or more employees already participate in the program, said Cindy Hanssen, coordinator for the SimplyWell program. The program has yielded significant cost savings for UNMC’s hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, she said. It also has helped employees who participate in The Nebraska Medical Center’s program to decrease their risk factors by an average of 10 percent.
The voluntary program consists of an analysis of health insurance data and workforce demographics to better identify those health-care costs that may be modified; individual health risk appraisals including health factor screenings; individualized and group information programs; and targeted education and disease management promotion.
Using aggregate data, with no individual identifiers, companies receive a wellness blueprint tailored to its population. The blueprint could include reward programs, an adjustment to the benefit’s insurance package, self-care books, wellness and disease management classes and prevention programs.
“SimplyWell gives university employees the opportunity to become healthier, while also helping us control health insurance increases,” said Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor for business and finance at UNMC. “Employees can participate in the program with the absolute assurance that their confidentiality will be protected.”
Employees can help reduce unnecessary health-care costs if they understand the health-care system and focus more on “health care” and not “sickness care,” Leuenberger said. “With SimplyWell, employees are vested in their own care and are given the tools to measure, achieve and maintain their health,” he said. “In doing so, everyone wins.”
With questions, contact the SimplyWell office at info@simplywell.com.