Vitality is proud to announce that not one, but two Vitality clients—Baylor College of Medicine and Ericsson—have each won the 2019 C. Everett Koop National Health Award.
The prestigious award—named for Charles Everett Koop, the 13th Surgeon General of the United States and a significant public health administrator in the 20th century—recognizes outstanding worksite health promotion and improvement programs. More specifically, the award acknowledges organizations that are able to document and verify their results, both in terms of health improvement and positive economic impact.
In order to win the award, an organization’s health program must meet three criteria:
- The program must meet The Health Project’s goal of improving population health by helping individuals change unhealthy behaviors and reducing health risks.
- The program must show it has worked to establish a culture of health at the workplace and/or in the community.
- The program must offer good value for the money spent investing in these programs.
The application process is vigorous, and Vitality’s focus on measuring health outcomes provides applicants with substantial, verified data to support their applications.
Spotlight on Baylor
Baylor College of Medicine launched Vitality in May 2014 and has since fully integrated Vitality into its culture of health. With a dedicated internal wellness team and a stout commitment to health promotion from the leadership team, Baylor is a model organization.
Unique to the Baylor wellness program is “Getaway to Good Health,” a virtual step challenge campaign to encourage members to add more activity in their day. Thanks to this program, Baylor employees walked a combined 3.9 million miles in 2018—enough steps to walk to the moon and back more than 8 times. Baylor also features a strong BCM BeWell Wellness Champ program through which a dedicated team of employees works to promote healthy activities and generate excitement within the organization. They have also done an excellent job of utilizing Vitality’s communication tools to keep healthy behavior top of mind and actively engage members.
Baylor’s other noteworthy accomplishments include:
- $1.4 million in claims savings by highly engaged members in program year 4, resulting in an ROI of about 1.8 for BCM
- 3% improvement in risk for highly engaged members, defined by Gold & Platinum Status
- 50% increase in members completing verified workouts since program year 2
- The percentage of participants meeting recommended guidelines for physical activity increased by 14.7% and those meeting the recommended guidelines for nutrition increased by 9.7% between 2014 and 2018
Ericsson Excels
Ericsson began partnering with Vitality in 2012 to establish a program called E-Health. In 2016, they collaborated with Willis Towers Watson to develop an integrated multi-year strategic plan for E-Health intended to create a culture of highly engaged employees seeking to optimize their well-being. To support this strategy, Ericsson offered their employees a comprehensive portfolio of tools including a health risk assessment (Vitality Health Review), biometric screening (Vitality Check), a financial well-being program (E-Wealth), and other trackers and tools to support physical activity, nutrition and emotional health.
Some of Ericsson’s highlights include:
- In 2018, 74% of all employees, and 47% of all spouses, registered for the E-Health program and completed at least one E-Health activity
- Based on a 2018 Vitality Member Survey, engaged E-Health participants reported lower turnover and absence rates, and higher rates of job performance and job satisfaction,
- Over the course of three years, those who participated in E-Health recorded medical and prescription costs that were on average $385 lower than non-participants.
It’s also worth noting that Ericsson is no stranger to recognition for the effectiveness of their wellness program. The Kansas City Business Journal recently named Ericsson’s Kansas City office their Healthiest Employer 2019.
A Track Record of Success
An annual winner of the Koop Award is only selected if an applicant meets the rigorous standards set by The Health Project. We’re proud to say that Vitality clients have won the award three out of the last four years that a winner was selected and have received an honorable mention in a year that a winner was not selected. In addition to Baylor and Ericsson this year, Alcon Laboratories won the award in 2011, Lockton Companies received honorable mention in 2014, and McKesson was bestowed the honor in 2015.
As we continue to strive to improve the health of our clients across the globe, the consistent recognition of our clients is proof that the program is effectively—and verifiably—helping companies reduce costs and improve their employees’ health.
