Oct. 15--EVERY COMPANY HAS THEM -- employees who get on the elevator and push the button for one floor down. Even gravitational pull isn't enough to get some people to exert themselves.
Maritz Holdings is trying to change that.
"Our CEO Steve Maritz was the one who wanted us to capitalize on the stairwells," says Sherry Ward, vice president of benefits. "He said, 'Wouldn't it be great if people were integrating physical activity into their daily work hours?' So now we pop into the stairwells from time to time and give out water bottles, pedometers and coupons for free heart-healthy lunches at our company cafeteria."
The Greater St. Louis Division of the American Heart Association points to Maritz as a prime example of ways companies can create healthier work forces and lower health care costs. The national organization is working to ensure that health care reform legislation includes work site wellness grants for companies with such programs.
And on Tuesday, the local chapter will host a Start! St. Louis Symposium from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the St. Louis Club, where it will educate companies on how to control rising health care costs by having a healthier work force.
According to findings of a study published in the current issue of "Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association," companies spend more than 25 percent of their annual medical costs on employees who are at risk for heart disease and stroke. Those companies, the study found, could save anywhere from $3 to $15 for every $1 spent on health and wellness programs within 12 to 18 months of implementing them.
"A critical part of health care reform is moving the system away from just treating disease and realizing we need to prevent it where possible," said Dr. Andrew Ziskind, president of the local heart association chapter, a cardiologist and senior vice president of BJC HealthCare.
The stairwell incentives at Maritz are part of a larger wellness program that originated at a Maritz office in Ohio. It includes asking employees to fill out online health risk assessments and submit to annual biometric screenings that measure body mass index, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
"We do stairwell challenges, walking clubs, boot camps, Zumba, yoga and Pilates classes," Ward said. "Most activities are free or deeply discounted."
Maritz also pays 100 percent on routine wellness exams such as mammograms and colonoscopies. When the program began, 42 percent of its employees had those exams each year. Now, more than 80 percent do.
It's been so successful that Maritz has begun developing programs for its clients.
"We mine their data and look where their needs are to drive behavior," Ward said. "For instance, if the data show that 50 percent of their employees smoke, they'd target their incentive program at getting them to quit."
The heart association applauds Maritz's sophisticated approach to health and wellness but notes that the Start! St. Louis program is free.
"Companies don't have to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel," said Ziskind. "They can take it to their workplace and start tomorrow basically. You don't need a workout room. You can walk outside, up and down the stairs, around the office. Our goal is to get people across the country to simply get off their butts."
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