ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse
FROM ASHHRA
Dear Health Care Executives: To better serve you, ASHHRA has created the Benefits and Wellness Bulletin dedicated to better enhancing your knowledge around trends in benefit offerings, the impact of health care reform, wellness and the culture of health, compensation, ancillary benefits, and how all of these impact your workforce retention and recruitment plans. ASHHRA now offers as a part of your membership five publications:
ASHHRA will continue to vet other opportunities to offer all of you more occasions to enhance your knowledge, and this is just another example of such an offering. ASHHRA will continue to focus on being your trusted and dependable resource, offering quality services that help you develop in your health care HR role. We want each of you to feel that by joining ASHHRA you have made a wise investment in your dollars. ASHHRA is about networking, expanding your breadth of knowledge, and most of all aiding you in better serving your employees. The Benefits and Wellness Bulletin will focus on the business of health care. Every day the demands of your role ask you to understand those people you serve. ASHHRA has an obligation to help you understand how your role fits within each of your organizational structures and how you can impact the bottom line to include benefits and wellness. ASHHRA appreciates your dedication to the health care human resource profession, and we will continue to ever improve in assisting you in the way you do your work. Please feel free to email me at sdrake@aha.org for any reason—we are here to serve you, our valued members. 
BENEFITS
By Alicia Caramenico
The Joint Commission issued new requirements for hospitals that provide health and wellness programs. Institutions accredited or applying for accreditation in behavior healthcare must have a written plan, get input from the community and use evidence-based guidelines, effective Jan. 1, 2013. Under the new rules, healthcare organizations must have staff who are trained or certified to deliver health and wellness services, although organizations may provide internal training. The Joint Commission also requires that healthcare organizations measure and review their wellness programs and make improvements when necessary. SOURCE: FIERCE HEALTHCARE Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/joint-commission-adds-health-wellness-rules/2012-05-23 to view the full article online. By Rebecca Vesely
A new study by the Pacific Business Group on Health reveals that most workers don't understand the terminology used by health plans and aren't able to accurately figure out which plan will offer them the most benefits at the least cost. SOURCE: WORKFORCE Visit http://www.workforce.com/article/20120619/NEWS02/120619971/employers-can-do-more-to-help-workers-avoid-missteps-when-choosing-a to view the full article online. By Karen M. Cheung
The idea is so crazy that it just might work: Keep hospital employees healthy and maybe it'll rub off on patients. More hospitals these days are taking a vested interest in their employees' wellness, whether they're instituting no-smoking rules, enrolling workers into exercise programs or offering healthy foods in the hospital cafeteria. Here are a few strategies that Susan L. Johnson of the employee wellness program at Medical University of (Charleston) South Carolina (MUSC) shared with FierceHealthcare about what the teaching hospital is doing to promote healthy living among its 12,000 employees. SOURCE: FIERCE HEALTHCARE Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/what-hospitals-are-doing-employee-wellness/2012-03-15 to view the full article online. By Christian Schappel
To make your company a more attractive place to work, here are four no-to-low-cost benefits to turn to when the weather heats up. Staffing services provider OfficeTeam recently asked 449 working adults which benefit they’d most like to have in the summer. SOURCE: HR MORNING Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/the-4-most-coveted-summer-benefits/ to view the full article online. By Lisa Beyer
Not only is employee well-being an essential component of overall wellness efforts, researchers say a healthy brain is crucial to employee engagement. SOURCE: WORKFORCE Visit http://www.workforce.com/article/20120615/NEWS02/120619979/brain-training-is-becoming-the-new-push-in-employee-wellness to view the full article online. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Sharpening an election-year confrontation over religious freedom and government health insurance rules Friday, the nation's Catholic hospitals rejected President Barack Obama's compromise for providing birth control coverage to their female employees. SOURCE: DETROIT FREE PRESS Visit http://www.freep.com/article/20120616/NEWS07/206160355/Catholic-hospitals-reject-Obama-s-compromise-on-covering-employees-birth-control to view the full article online. By Paul Fronstin, Ph.D.
Employment-based health benefits are the most common form of health insurance in the United States. In 2010, 58.7 percent of nonelderly individuals were covered by employment-based health plans, with 68.6 percent of working adults covered, 35.3 percent of non-working adults covered, and 54.8 percent of children covered (Fronstin, 2011). SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RESEARCH INSTITUTE Visit http://www.ebri.org/pdf/briefspdf/EBRI_IB_04-2012_No370_HI-Trends.pdf to view the full article online. A new Center for Retirement Research at Boston College report highlights the difference a few extra years of work can make toward ensuring that the vast majority of Americans can achieve retirement security. The National Retirement Risk Index has shown that an increasing percentage of households will not be ready to retire at age 65, from 30 percent in 1989 to approximately 50 percent today.
SOURCE: PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, INC. / INSURANCENEWSNET.COM Visit http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=346667&type=lifehealth to view the full article online. By Alicia Caramenico
Creating a medical wellness center not only addresses population health, but it also can help a hospital gain a competitive edge, experts said at American College of Healthcare Executives' annual congress in Chicago. SOURCE: FIERCE HEALTHCARE Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/medical-wellness-centers-help-hospitals-stay-competitive/2012-03-19 to view the full article online. By Christian Schappel
A non-profit recently graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how well their laws provide access to leave for new moms and dads. Only two states received an A. They were California (the first state to pass an a law giving new parents access to paid leave) and Connecticut (which passed a statewide paid sick day law). SOURCE: HR MORNING Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/states-graded-on-their-family-leave-benefits/ to view the full article online. By Jennifer Benz
As an employer, you are in a unique position to make a difference in the lives of your employees and their families. You’ve invested a lot in providing great wellness benefits. Those nutrition, fitness and coaching programs may be just the resources and support your employees and their families need to start making a change. SOURCE: TLNT.COM Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2012/05/25/how-benefits-communications-can-help-the-fight-against-obesity/#more-53886 to view the full article online. By Dallas L. Salisbury
To set the backdrop for the forces at work today in employee benefits, consider this statement by a president of one firm listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In a recent PBS interview, he said, "We no longer view ourselves as an American company; we act as a global company in all of our decision-making." SOURCE: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Visit http://online.wsj.com/ad/employeebenefits-benefit_trends.html to view the full article online. WELLNESS
By Marijke Durning
The message is all around us: To maintain a healthy heart, we need to maintain a healthy weight. As nurses, though, it’s sometimes easier to teach this to others than it is to work on the message ourselves. Managing your weight doesn’t necessarily mean losing weight. Some nurses are at a good, comfortable weight and only need to be sure it stays at that level. Here are 10 tips to help you manage your weight. SOURCE: SCRUBS MAGAZINE Visit http://scrubsmag.com/top-ten-weight-management-tips-for-nurses/ to view the full article online. By Margaret Dick Tocknell
Medicare's fee-for-service benefit design should be changed to provide better protection against high out-of-pocket cost sharing and to create incentives to encourage beneficiaries to make better healthcare decisions, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) said in its latest annual report on Medicare and the healthcare delivery system. The report was released on Friday. SOURCE: HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA Visit http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/FIN-281342/MedPAC-Recommends-FFS-Benefit-Changes to view the full article online. By Julie Rovner
Twice a week, local seniors in Warrenton, Virginia, flock to a hip new dinner spot called the Bistro on the Hill for good food, a great view, and musical accompaniment by a retired piano player from a nearby Nordstrom's. Only "The Bistro" is no stand-alone restaurant. It's the cafeteria of Fauquier Hospital, one of a new group of "patient-centered" health facilities focused on meeting more than just people's medical needs. SOURCE: NPR Visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/09/152355829/hospital-food-so-fresh-even-the-healthy-come-to-dine to view the full article online. By Carol Stevenson
Baptist Health's partnership with Aegis Health Group, formed in 2008, was originally intended to begin developing wellness programs to help local employers create healthier workforces. First, the four-hospital system realized it needed to improve the health of its own workforce to combat escalating healthcare costs driven by excessive utilization, high-dollar claims and chronic conditions. So it rolled out WOW, a wellness program targeting 4,500 Baptist employees. SOURCE: AEGIS HEALTH GROUP / MARKET WATCH, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Visit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baptist-health-system-saves-16-million-through-worksite-wellness-program-targeting-its-own-employees-2012-06-20 to view the full article online. By Molly Gamble
Detroit Medical Center will stop hiring smokers or tobacco users beginning July 1. Under the new policy, all job applicants will be required to complete a nicotine screening as part of their pre-placement assessment. The policy is effective for all DMC locations and job titles. SOURCE: BECKER’S HOSPITAL REVIEW Visit http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/detroit-medical-center-adopts-nicotine-free-hiring-policy.html to view the full article online. By Michelle V. Rafter
To win at employee wellness programs, companies are turning to online fitness challenges and Facebook-style social networks to boost workers' options, improve engagement and cut costs. SOURCE: WORKFORCE Visit http://www.workforce.com/article/20120601/NEWS02/120609992/can-social-media-produce-wellness-results to view the full article online. The federal health reform law has eliminated lifetime limits on coverage for 105 million Americans, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who in March also announced new policies to help states build affordable insurance exchanges.
SOURCE: INSURANCENEWSNET.COM / AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION Visit http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=346289&type=lifehealth to view the full article online. By Karen M. Cheung
Is your hospital a hotspot for the walking dead? A study published in the Archives of Surgery uncovered more evidence that sleepy surgeons are a threat to patient safety—and the news is making its way through the mainstream media (and reaching your patients). SOURCE: FIERCE HEALTHCARE Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/surgical-resident-fatigue-patient-safety-risks-zombies/2012-05-24 to view the full article online. By Charles Fiegl
Dozens of private and public insurers have joined a Medicare-led initiative to offer primary care practices in seven markets monthly care management fees and the opportunity to share savings for keeping patient costs low. Primary care physicians in eight states have until July 20 to apply for the four-year program known as the comprehensive primary care initiative, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on June 6. SOURCE: AMEDNEWS.COM Visit http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/06/18/gvl10618.htm to view the full article online. By John Cominsky
Working Well, a collaboration between the South Carolina Hospital Association and NC Prevention Partners, has recognized Piedmont Medical Center for providing the highest standard of excellence in employee quit tobacco systems and delicious, affordable healthy food environments—the Gold Star and Gold Apple, respectively. SOURCE: ROCK HILL WBTV Visit http://rockhill.wbtv.com/news/community-spirit/73637-piedmont-medical-center-recognized-employee-wellness-working-well to view the full article online. Workers at one of the largest employers in Champaign-Urbana are being encouraged to stay physically fit through financial incentives. A growing number of companies across the country have started encouraging employees to stay healthy by offering financial incentives. Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, which is one of the largest employers in the area, is pushing for a healthier workforce through its Charge Rewards Program.
SOURCE: GIACHELLO HEALTH Visit http://ghwellness.net/hospital-offers-employees-incentives-to-stay-healthy/ to view the full article online. By Nanci Hellmich
Despite the growing obesity epidemic, some physicians find it difficult to talk to heavy patients about their weight—and even harder to help them lose weight. A patient's weight is often the white elephant in the examining room. Both patient and doctor know it's a problem, but often neither party wants to talk about it, says internist William Bestermann Jr., 62, medical director of a cardiovascular treatment program for the Holston Medical Group in Kingsport, Tenn. SOURCE: USA TODAY Visit http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-10-06-doctors-obesity_N.htm to view the full article online. By Tajinder Rehal
Stress plus long hours usually equals unhealthy food choices and nearly nonexistent exercise. That, in turn, equates to putting on pound after unwanted pound. But as these four RNs have clearly proven, beating the battle of the bulge is entirely doable. SOURCE: SCRUBS MAGAZINE Visit http://scrubsmag.com/winning-at-losing-how-four-nurses-beat-the-battle-of-the-bulge/ to view the full article online. CULTURE OF HEALTH
ASHHRA member communications are now available through a convenient mobile portal, optimized for browsing on any smartphone, tablet, or other Web-enabled mobile device! Find ASHHRA information quickly and easily! Read HR Pulse, e-News Brief, and the new Benefits and Wellness Bulletin, renew your membership, browse updates about the 48th Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, and much more!
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