Healthy Fresno

HealthyFresno – a community-based chronic disease awareness and prevention initiative sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies – is dedicated to helping lower the burden of illness in Fresno County by bringing together key community groups, including employers, and to finding ways to improve the health of all Fresnans. The need to improve community health is clear: Fresno County spends almost $2 billion dollars a year on chronic diseases – a significant portion of which is borne by employers in the form of absenteeism and reduced productivity resulting from employees’ chronic health problems.[1]

“There is no question that businesses are hurt by poor health among workers,” said luncheon speaker Lynn Scarbath-Berger, a licensed, Masters level clinician with Business Health Services, a wellness consulting firm. She noted, however, that when employers make a solid commitment to improve workplace health they are well-rewarded. “Businesses that invest resources in developing and implementing well-designed workplace wellness initiatives can see improvements in employee health, and reductions in missed workdays and low productivity,” she said.

Through the new Well Workplace Challenge, HealthyFresno is calling on Fresno employers to make improvements in their workplace policies and make it easier for employees to make healthier decisions and prevent disease.  At the luncheon, Business Health Services – a wellness consulting firm with more than 20 years of experience working with businesses to develop and implement wellness programs – demonstrated what any businesses can do to bolster employees’ health and outlined a 5-phase process to guide businesses as they develop and implement wellness programs in their organizations. Employers were also provided with a Healthy Fresno Well Workplace Challenge Tool Kit, containing materials to help them in this process including a sample organizational assessment, sample employee needs and interests survey, and a list of sample wellness ideas.

Additionally, employers were reminded that they can direct employees to HealthyFresno’s online tools and educational materials, including information on chronic diseases, a personalized health assessment, and diet and fitness trackers available at www.HealthyFresno.org and español.HealthyFresno.org.

 “Healthy employees are the heart and soul of a healthy business,” said Graydon Forrer, Director of Communications & Public Affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the organization representing America’s pharmaceutical companies.  “We hope that local employers will accept the challenge and take full advantage of opportunities to help their employees improve their health and productivity.”

Forrer reminded employers that much of businesses’ health care spending is devoted to dealing with the after the fact costs of an employees’ illness. More than 95% of the nation’s health expenditures – including most of the billions of dollars employers spend on health coverage – is committed to diagnosing and treating disease only after it becomes apparent.[2] 

The workplace health initiative is part of the HealthyFresno program – a community-wide health, wellness, and disease prevention program launched in May by America’s pharmaceutical companies and local health care partners at the Ted C. Wills Community Center.

Employers interested in joining the effort can learn more by contacting Tim Rosales at 916-475-4900.

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