HealthyLinking.com: Health Directory, Healthy Living Information, Physical Activity Guide

Leading Strategists Outline 12 Steps to Solve Health Care Dilemma

Baltimore, MD (PRWeb) February 2, 2007 -- The Baltimore chapter of the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) kicked off a three-part educational series on wellness today. Designed to assist employee benefits specialists implement programs to keep workers healthier, the series started with a presentation on 12 proven steps to design, implement and measure a customized health and productivity management (HPM) strategy. HPM encompasses integrated health management programs that improve employee health, worksite performance, abilities, motivation and vitality and overall corporate economic well-being. Presenter Les C. Meyer, president of HPM Advisors and its training arm HPM Bootcamp says, “It’s a very simple concept to grasp … people are a company’s greatest resource. If you enhance your people’s ability to do their job, you enhance your company’s ability to gain competitive advantage and financial performance.”

With rising health care costs affecting everyone in the country — from employers to employees to the country’s overall economic power — human resources and benefits professionals need guidance on how to design and implement programs that strategically and systematically motivate employees to health achievement while improving the employer’s bottom line. This dilemma is quickly becoming a top-rated priority in most companies. In 2006, health care costs in the U.S. were estimated to be $1.4 trillion. Added to this is the staggering $409 billion annual cost associated with productivity loss/work impairment from chronic health conditions. To provide human resources professionals with a hands-on approach to implementing or fine-tuning health and productivity management (HPM) strategies for greater corporate performance, Meyer and leading health care
strategists from around the country formed HPM Bootcamp, a nationwide tour of accredited, intensive corporate training sessions that focus on this issue. HPM Bootcamp kicks off its 2007 tour on Feb. 20-22, 2007 at the Bethesda Marriott in Bethesda, Md. It will be co-hosted by the MidAtlantic Business Group on Health (MABGH) and New York Business Group on Health (NYBGH).

During today’s session, Meyer and co-presenter, Richard Honaker, Constellation Energy’s (a Fortune 200 company) former director of benefits, outlined 12 steps to developing a customized HPM strategy that is integrated, actionable and yields measurable results. According to Meyer, these steps are rolled into the four phases of developing an HPM strategy. In the diagnosis phase, a company looks at specific controllable health and productivity risks, explores industry strategies to address these risks and examines the tools and resources it has to address these risks. The most critical aspect of phase 2, which includes strategic and tactical planning, is developing plans that are both tailored to the business and integrated into its mission and operational structure. In phase 3, intervention, Meyer stresses the importance of two-way communication. Top-down communication ensures the program will garner the necessary levels of commitment and resources, while bottom-up communication yields tailored strategies that will be readily adopted. The final phase, measurement, is an ongoing process that not only proves the success of your HPM investment, but also allows you to make continual adjustments to improve the program.

Constellation Energy followed a similar approach in 2004 when it began work on its HPM strategy. Says Honaker, who led the company’s HPM initiative and program design, “Initially, there was some resistance; however, once we reviewed the real cost savings similar companies who had programs in place were experiencing, it was an easy sell.” In the first year of the company’s HPM program, nearly 1,500 employees enrolled in specific disease management programs designed to improve their health and overall health care costs were reduced by $7.5 million. Executives continue to gather feedback and refine programs and now estimate that they will save $20 million in expenses alone by 2008.

Today, Honaker shares his own experiences with other employers as a faculty member for HPM Bootcamp. HPM Bootcamp is a nationwide tour of accredited, intensive corporate training sessions that focus on the approach, design and implementation of health and productivity management programs with immediately actionable information.

About HPM Bootcamp
HPM Advisors in Denver, Colo., is a think tank of national experts creating answers to the upward spiral health care costs in America and the downward spiral of Americans’ health. Its training arm, HPM Bootcamp, is the vehicle that moves 30,000-foot theory into actionable health and productivity management strategies for employers of all sizes. HPM Bootcamp is a nationwide tour of accredited, intensive training sessions that focus on the approach, design and implementation of health and productivity management programs with immediately actionable information. Unlike anything currently available in the market, each HPM Bootcamp event actually spans more than one year with PreCamp™ required learning and PostCamp 365™ Implementation and follow-through programs. Learn more about the program and faculty at www.HPMBootcamp.com.

This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.

###

Leading Exercise Scientist and Author Craig Harper Reveals Healthy Foods That Aren't (Healthy)
As research suggests, Australia is fast becoming one of the fattest nations in the world. According to Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci), motivational speaker and author, "we're still missing the point when it comes to creating permanent change in our lives and change in a practical and effective manner." It seems we're more educated, more equipped and have more resources than ever before but the reality is -- we're also fatter and unhappier than we've ever been.

Exercise Essential Before Gastric Bypass, Says Pacific Bariatric Surgical Medical Group
New studies have confirmed that even small to moderate amounts of exercise could help overweight and obese women improve their overall health. This research comes as no surprise to physicians, who have long ascribed to the idea that even minimal activity is better than none at all.

Diet and Exercise Website Launches New Weight Loss Products to Help Hispanics Fight Obesity
Today, MiDieta, the only weight loss diet and exercise program on the Internet, designed exclusively for the Hispanic/Latin population, announced that they have launched a new line of nutritional supplements.

The Benefit Of Regular Exercise - Physical Activity For Better Health
What is the difference between exercise and physical activity? Physical activity is any type of movement of the body that increases your metabolism and causes your muscles to contract. Examples of physical activity range from playing basketball to making beds. Exercise itself is actually a subcategory of physical activity. When you exercise, you are engaging in a structured program of physical activity intended to help you maintain or achieve maximum physical fitness, such as walking or rowing.

Include Regular Exercise As Part of Your Healthy Lifestyle
If you want to live better, for a longer time, you need to take good care of yourself Part of your plan to good health should include regular exercise, along with eating well and getting enough sleep

Physician Recruitment Firm Opens Physician Database to Healthcare Facility Recruiters
Through RecruitRx, LocumTenens.com offers ?freedom? to prospective clients.

Physical Activity, Exercise, And Diabetes
Physical activity refers to any movement that burns calories such as pushing a broom or vacuum cleaner, washing the car or working in the garden Exercise involves a series of repeated movements aimed to strengthen your body

Exercise + Nutrition = A Healthy Dog
Sometimes, going to school was a very painful experience, not because of bullies, but because we had to take classes that we absolutely despised in order to graduate And one of the most disliked classes that were targeted for individual hatred always seemed to be either English or (most likely) Mathematics

Angie Best launches Cosmetic Surgery Diet and Exercise Plan With the Harley Medical Group
The Harley Medical Group teams up with Angie Best to launch the cosmetic surgery diet and exercise plan to help ensure patients are physically prepared for surgery and heal faster.