Health at work and community tightly linked: New employer engagement tool

Health at work and in the community is tightly linked. Unhealthy communities can compromise employer investments to improve employee health and productivity and present an economic barrier to product consumption and economic investments.

A healthy community, on the other hand, may be more desirable to live and work and therefore, good for business. For several years the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) has facilitated engagement between employers and community stakeholders in population health improvement strategies. NBCH has supported community health grant projects, provided technical assistance, and developed educational materials for business coalitions and partners.

This newly-developed engagement tool helps coalitions partner with local employers and other stakeholders to improve health in their communities. It includes:

• Assessment of an employer’s priorities and why they might want to participate in community-level health improvement activities
• Results from County Health Rankings, ranked by local opportunities for improvement relative to the national average
• Potential next steps and resources
• Employer case studies
• Financial impact analysis framework and calculator

More information, including links to the tool and an informational webinar, is available here. This project was conducted with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings and Roadmaps Program. The tool was developed by Discern Health.

Spotting Value in Your Benefits Program

NBCH recently participated in the Mediaplanet’s latest “Employee Well-Being” campaign that features industry influencers, organizations and advocates to highlight the importance for employers to prioritize the overall well-being of their employees through the improvement of health care and benefits programs. 

The campaign was distributed in an edition of USA TODAY, and will be available at our upcoming annual conference (Nov. 16-18, Fairmont Dallas).

Chuck Smithers contributed a piece on value-based benefit design : http://bit.ly/1Ow3tkN. And here's a link to all of the other workplace health and wellness articles: http://www.futureofbusinessandtech.com/workplace-wellness.

Good Health is Good Business

The CDC Foundation is a non-profit organization that connects the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with private-sector organizations and individuals to build public health programs that make our world healthier and safer. The Foundation produces Business Pulse, a quarterly online series which offers useful CDC health resources to Fortune 500 businesses, executives, employers and employees.

The latest issue, Business Pulse: Healthy Workforce is now available and explores how the CDC can help employers maximize their worker health and safety while improving their profitability and productivity. 

The piece links to many tools that coalitions and employers may find of value including business-focused CDC resources, the Total Worker Health program and the interactive infographic below.