CHS Conditioning Programs Support Employee Wellness; Comprehensive Health Services Helps Employers Lower Costs by Keeping Employees Healthy.

VIENNA, Va. -- Comprehensive Health Services (CHS), a national occupational health services company based in Vienna, Va., has launched an employee conditioning program to complement the company's fitness testing services for organizations that wish to reduce health costs by maintaining employee health, and to support employees as they comply with fitness-for-duty job requirements.

"CHS conducts fitness testing for many clients, including government agencies, and provides employees with tailored conditioning programs to ensure they are successful in their jobs," said Judith Kay, CHS Director Wellness Screening Services. "Our clients look at employee job descriptions, and then we base our conditioning programs on the skills necessary for the job. One example of the results of this program has been to improve federal law enforcement fitness-for-duty test scores."

CHS conditioning programs provide a range of benefits, including behavioral, lifestyle and nutrition training and fitness counseling. Fitness programs cover muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility, all areas tested by fitness-for-duty examinations for law enforcement and other professionals.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found that overweight and obesity cost the nation $117 billion annually. Lost productivity related to obesity among Americans costs $3.9 billion each year, which includes costs related to lost workdays, restricted activity and physician visits related to obesity.(1) However, studies have found that wellness programs can result in reduction of health risk among participating employees and decreased healthcare costs. For example, one wellness program that covered 700 employees across three businesses saved $2 million in health care, absenteeism and workers' compensation.(2)

"Everybody usually has one area not quite as strong as it could be. We try to help employees achieve balance to prevent injury and lower their health risk," Kay said. "The program centers around industry-standard SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-specific) goals, which are obtainable targets developed specifically for each individual."

The conditioning program is part of CHS' spectrum of service offerings, including onsite employee health units, work place safety, disability management, pre-placement exams and screenings, as well as health risk assessments for 15,000 employees annually. CHS checks employees' cholesterol, blood pressure, and height, weight and body composition to determine which types of lifestyle interventions are appropriate. Counseling and ongoing testing are available for employees of client organizations.

About CHS

Founded in 1975, CHS is a leader in the design, implementation, and management of occupational health services. With in-house medical professionals, a national network of CHS-certified physicians, and best practices built on decades of experience serving blue chip clients in the public and private sectors, CHS uses its unique resources to integrate services across the entire occupational health lifecycle. A founding member of the Occupational and Environmental Health Foundation, CHS also is a corporate sponsor of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) Corporate Health Achievement Award. The CHS Web site is at http://www.chsmedical.com.

(1)U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Publication No. 03-4158, July 2003. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/pubs/statobes.htm#econ

(2)"Corporate Savings Following Incentive-Based Wellness Program," American College Sports Medicine Annual Conference Proceedings, 2001. http://www.acsm.org/