Wellness programs to grow under Clinton reforms.Emphasis on preventive care Preventive care is a set of measures taken in advance of symptoms to prevent illness or injury. This type of care is best exemplified by routine physical examinations and immunizations. The emphasis is on preventing illnesses before they occur. See also
Many Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County companies, hammered by the recession, have cut out or scaled back their worksite wellness programs. But President Clinton's pending health care reform could bring such programs back into vogue, said health care experts. "Once the specifies of health care reform are out, we may see more worksite wellness programs, not less," said Bob Pollock, a principal in the L.A. office of William M. Mercer Inc., a health care consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a . He further said that preventive health care programs, such as those aimed at helping people to stop smoking adn drinking, will greatly assist employers to contain health care costs. Worksite wellness programs take a proactive approach to combating the spiraling costs of health care by directing resources toward illness prevention through education and a wide variety of fitness programs. The U.S. Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
Wellness activities can range from participating in the Great American Smokeout The Great American Smokeout is an annual event in the United States to encourage Americans (of whom 45.8 million smoke) to quit tobacco smoking. It was first held in 1977, and is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Its spokesman is Smokey Robinson. , sponsoring lunchtime health seminars, publishing a wellness newsletter or putting on a health fair. Local wellness experts said many companies in L.A. County have defied the wellness trend by either closing down their fitness centers or eliminating full-time fitness instructors or health promotion managers. Gina Brandenburgh, co-director of the L.A. County Wellness Council, a trade group representing wellness consultants and vendors, said she has been laid off as a health promotion manager twice in the last four years. First, she was liad off from Security Pacific0 Bank -- which merged with Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. - and then Digital Equipment Corp. Brandenburg said she is now health promotion manager for Certified Grocers of California Ltd., one of the few companies in L.A. County that started a large-scale wellness program in the last year. Bill Horton Dr. William "Bill" Horton is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera Days of our Lives. Actor history
Despite these setbacks, wellness experts said their industry is being buoyed by HMOs and the prospects of health care reform. HMOs - companies that provide health care for set monthly fees -- are considered the future of U.S. health care. They have been strong proponents of wellness programs. Health Net Chairman Roger Greaves greaves cracklings, an edible raw fat from the meat trade. The skimmings from the preparation of this fat are also called greaves. They represent a low grade of meat meal. preaches "health reform," not health care reform, because statistics show lifestyle is a strong determinant of future health, said Cindy Keitel, director of wellness for the Woodland Hills-based HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, . She said three-quarters of all premature deaths in the U.S. are due to poor lifestyle habits, such as overeating overeating eating too much food too quickly; leads to acute gastric dilatation in dogs and horses, acute carbohydrate engorgement in ruminants, dietetic (dietary) diarrhea in young calves and foals, abomasal tympany in bottle fed lambs and calves. , not exercising smoking and drinking alcohol. HMOs, shcuh as Health Net and Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care organization, based in Oakland, California, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield. , provide a vast assortment of instructional materials to assist companies intereste in setting up simple health promotion programs in the workplace, such as walking, stress reduction and nutrition. The HMOs also provide free blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat screenings to their members. Starting this month, Healthy net is sending out free questionnaires to 400,000 members to asses their health risk, said Keitel. She said the survey asks about stress, seatbelt usage and nutrition. After receiving the completed forms, Health Net then plans to send back to each member a custom report, including recommendations for lifestyle changes. HMOs have demonstrated to a lot of employers that wellness programs can be done cheaply, said wellness experts. Brandenburg of the L.A. County Wellness Council said a large portion of the group's membership is comprised of non-profit organizations, such as the Americna Cancer Society, which will make corporate visits to give free lectures. Low-cost software programs to aid in managing a person's wellness are also making the scene and could be used in the workplace. HealthDesk Corp. of Berkeley, Calif., for instance, is marketing a softeware program that tracks a person's medical history, weight loss, stress level and information on a wide variety of health topics. |
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