A rapidly expanding branch of Riverside Health System, Riverside Business Health now has contracts with 560 local businesses for services that include health screenings and fairs, personal wellness profiles to identify health risks, immunizations, workers' compensation management, drug testing and employee assistance programs. People are understanding that if you do this right, you can really bring your costs down. Since 1994, Riverside Business Health's revenues have jumped 25 percent a year, Hicks said. National surveys show more businesses are concentrating on keeping their employees well before sickness takes them off the job. Some businesses offer financial incentives to people who attend wellness programs.
Studies also show that the investments can bring significant returns.
Statistics from Riverside Business Health show employers can cut workers' comp costs by 30 percent if a network of doctors is in place to manage the case from the beginning. You've got to oversee things in a more focused way. Like a lot of health-care companies, we're trying to get more and more into that business. At Siemens, a nurse manager works on-site to organize health fairs, body fat and cholesterol screenings, smoking cessation classes, drug tests and treatment for injured workers, as well as to answer health questions ranging from sinus problems to diabetes management. Siemens, which has about 1,150 employees, had its first health fair last year and regularly draws 40 people to its smoking cessation classes, said spokeswoman Grindly Johnson.