From the National SHRM Bulletin Board…

Topic: How Can You Liven Up Open Enrollment Meetings?

Posted: 8/12/05, 11:09:05 AM

Post: Any ideas on how to capture people's attention for OE meetings? They are so cut & dried, employees are usually (literally) sleeping in them after getting off their shifts... anything fun/entertaining we can try? We can't change the times of the meetings due to business needs, so the employees are brought into meetings after their 12-hour shift... the PowerPoint presentation starts & they are in LaLa Land within a few minutes...

Number of Replies: 11 as of 8/15/05

Posted Reply: I started asking "quiz" questions ... "Can anyone tell me what the co-pay is on prescriptions?" and giving little prizes. It's random, so they never know when I'll ask a question or what it's about. Food is always key .

Control Your Healthcare Costs

By Dr. Suzanne M. Zentner, Founder, H.W.W. Enterprises, LLC

After nearly 20 years in K-12 public education as both a classroom educator and principal, I was intrigued. This intrigue was in a number of areas, all surrounding the notion of how to create schools that are most optimal for learning, growing and overall achievement. As my research has grown outside of schools, it has become evident that the structure and design of most organizations is somewhat similar. Additionally, the barriers to optimization seem equally similar. Over the past three years, my research has consisted of reading literally hundreds of studies for purposes of understanding how it is we, as a country, have lost the health and personal wealth we once had and creating systems by which to change the design of our organizations to regain control of our health. After synthesizing nearly 700 studies, certain identifiable factors began to emerge from the literature. Although they are not complex in any way, they serve as the key contributors to what the current American health crisis can be most directly attributed to. Take a look and see which ones impact you, your family and your work environment.

1. Our Fast-Paced Lives. We live in a fast-paced world where time is at a premium. We live with overcommitted schedules. In many families both parents work outside the home, some jobs require constant travel and there never seems to be “down” time.

2. The Fast Food Industry . We eat far more fast food than every before. From 1995-1997, for example, the percentage of meals eaten at fast food restaurants doubled. We (adults and children) are bombarded with clever marketing to make fast food restaurants the food destination of choice. As frustrating as the proliferation of these restaurants is, their profitability lies in our hands….they are creating what consumers demand: fast, easy, convenient and inexpensive. Most people seem relatively uninterested in the poor nutritional quality they are receiving as food sold in these restaurants is high in fat and calories and low in overall nutrition.

3. Sugar. The consumption and presence of sugar in food in the U.S. has increased 30% over the past 20 years. Also within that time, the incidence of Type II diabetes in children and adolescents has increased to the point that it is prompted a name change by the medical community to Type II/juvenile diabetes from its formerly known label of adult onset diabetes. Pediatricians have now stated that they attribute the rise in Type II diabetes almost entirely to the obesity epidemic.

4. Soda and Vending Machines. The consumption of soft drinks has increased 500% in the past 50 years. On average, Americans drink nearly 53 gallons of soda per person per year. Particularly with soda machines in schools, we know that soda consumption adversely affects consumption of other products, namely what is provided in schools: milk and water. Drinking soft drinks leads to other health risks such as increased rates of osteoporosis, tooth decay, heart disease and kidney stones. 95% of American high schools (includes middle schools) and 60% of elementary schools sell soda in the US.

5. Portion Size. Super sizing, it seems, has become the “normal” serving size for hamburgers, french fries and sodas. Since 1977, portion sizes have grown by 16-52%. Portion sizes in the US are notably larger than those of the same food eaten in other Western countries. For example, Chinese food servings are 72% larger, pizza is 32% and ice cream is 24% larger that those found in Europe.

6. Commercial Takeover of Schools. Due to budget constraints facing almost all American school districts it has become acceptable for schools to fund programs with profits from selling the products of national soft drink and fast food companies in the schools. Some schools utilize TV programs that advertise fast and junk foods. 20% of American schools have fast food outlets within the school. The food industry as a whole spends $33 billion per year on advertising and promotion with numerous campaigns targeted directly toward children/adolescents.

7. The Impressionable Family Unit. Are our families contributing to our poor health? We need to model healthy and active lifestyles for our children because as we know, habits– both healthy and not – are created early and can last a lifetime. Surveys have shown that children would rather exercise with their parents than watch TV.

8. A Sedentary Nation. One result of living in a fast-paced world is that many of us no longer engage in regular physical activity. Nearly 60% of American adults do not achieve the recommended amount of regular physical activity, while the average child spends more time watching TV than attending school (by over 100 hours annually)! When children do play it is more likely to be organized sports than the unstructured and spontaneous play of the past. During a typical four hour segment of Saturday morning cartoon programming, over 200 ads for “junk food” were aired.

9. The Automobile. Urban sprawl promotes inactivity and we have built our cities to require car travel. The infrastructure created in our cities is not conducive to walking, biking to school or work or for errands. More than 25% of all car trips taken daily are one mile or less. Our use of the car deprives us of the health benefits of walking or bicycling both of which produce no toxic emissions.

10. Reduced Physical Education Class Time . As our schools attempt to assure academic accomplishment for our students, physical education and recess time have been consistently reduced and/or eliminated. In 1991, 41% of students attended daily physical education classes and today that figure is 29%. A study by the Rand Corporation has found that 5 hours of physical education class per week for grades K-12 would reduce obesity rates by nearly 60% over a lifetime.

11. Apparent Government Disregard. Historically, obesity has been given a low priority and the response from public and private policy makers has been relativity small and uncoordinated. Without concerted, coordinated and immediate action by ALL stakeholders (governments, educators, insurers, medical providers, private companies) our health risks will continue to grow. It is critical that our focus be put on addressing the notion of prevention, not remediation.

HOWEVER, CHANGES ARE COMING

Not to despair! There are bright spots in the health care picture, which are supports that lead to hope for improvement in and not only with the identified factors. Health savings accounts (HSA’s) are now an insurance option, which allows consumers to have more control over what they spend for health care. Whether we read about it in books, magazines or newspapers or hear it on television, the national media is highlighting health problems to heighten our awareness. The Surgeon General is working with legislators to address such issues as food labeling and nutrition information on restaurant menus, as well as on certain bans and promotions to protect the health of the consumer. The government is trying to speed up approval of less expensive, generic drugs. Many fast food restaurants are increasing their offerings of healthy food, as well.

In the private sector, across the nation, fitness centers are being built at a record rate, the vitamin/mineral/herb industries are booming as consumers and practitioners now consider these choices as a very acceptable way to prevent health issues, treat existing conditions and supplement what may be missing in everyday diets.

Corporations and schools are recognizing the value of having healthy employees. They are encouraging and supporting their ranks (adults and children alike) to become lean and healthy by rewarding lifestyle changes with prizes, incentives and various motivations. In return for joining a gym, starting an exercise class, taking CPR, losing weight, lowering cholesterol, and much more, participants are being recognized and awarded for their participation and lifestyle changes. More and more corporations are interspersing healthy activities such as golf or massage into intense business meetings resulting in more alert and focused participation and in schools the Child Nutrition Act requires all school districts in the country to put wellness plans in place by the start of the 2006-07 school year.

It was in a Wisconsin middle school that the S.W.E.L.L. (Students and Staff Who Enjoy Living Life) program I developed was born and proved to have deep, lasting impact on school personnel, students, parents and the entire community. This three-year initiative proved quite clearly that if you build it, they will come. H.W.W. Enterprises set out a year ago and implemented an identical program for corporate settings.

For more information, contact Dr. Suzanne M. Zentner, Founder, H.W.W. Enterprises, LLC. at smz@hwwenterprises.com or 608.692.2496.

To submit an article for the next HR Link, e-mail GMA SHRM. Also see HR Link guidelines.

Back to Table of Contents

Greater Madison Area SHRM, Inc. Website