The Empower theme is to “connect, collaborate and create.” Our goal is to continue to provide an intimate event where our clients have every opportunity to learn from their peers, interact with WebMD team members and interact with our vendor partners–in an environment that is conducive to well-being.

Our goal this year was to infuse as much well-being into the day as possible.

We began each day with an optional sunrise yoga class taught by a WebMD Health Coach and one of our clients, guided runs and walks, as well as afternoon activities that included biking, pickleball or relaxing by the pool or beach. Our vendor partners also offered health screenings and the chance to partake in moments of well-being. (A big thank you to: eHealthScreenings, Enrich, Fern Health, Togetherall and Lifespeak.)

We kicked off the event learning about Ubuntu with Shola Richards.

Perhaps the highlight of Empower was our inspiring keynote speaker, Shola Richards. Shola is a passionate, engaging presenter who helps organizations build compassion, competence and accountability in the workplace. He taught us the concept of “Ubuntu,” an African word that means “I am because we are.” He is a firm believer in the notion that if you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, then go together. You can learn more about Shola’s work here.

The Center for Research shed light on the employee experience and well-being.

Our Center for Research revealed new data on how employees are feeling about work; diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B); well-being; and burnout. We’ll be sharing much more about this important research in the coming months, but here are a few nuggets:

• Burnout rates have risen from 2022 to 2024​—most dramatically for Gen X employees.
• Interestingly, low burnout does not equate to high well-being or a positive employee experience—so we can’t just assume that if employees aren’t burned out, they’re thriving.​
• Emotional engagement and organizational care were low across all age groups.​ This checks with other studies that have highlighted low engagement numbers and the employee perception that employers don’t care about them.
• All age groups reported low feelings of psychological safety and lack of comfort voicing opinions.
• Financial well-being is low across all generations.

After the presentation, clients participated in SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) workshops led by the Center for Research. They walked away with tangible insights on specific challenges their organization was facing, including mental health, women’s health, and how to be an organization of care.

As one client shared, “It was validating to be a part of the session I was in and know that many others had similar areas to improve. It was nice to be able to share some of where I felt we excelled in the space and discuss areas for improvement. Excited to hear about what learnings come out of all of these.”

Other highlights of the event included:

• A business update on how we are “Better Together” with our acquisition of Limeade, and how we are strategically layering value through technology, services with curated partners, and a human-centric focus through coaching and Dedicated Well-Being Services.
• A product innovation session describing how we are increasing program awareness, evolving the participant experience, optimizing our human services and investing in solutions to meet the needs of client business and well-being strategies, while enhancing back-end data and reporting strategies.
• A fireside chat featuring two clients—Marathon Petroleum Corporation and Illinois Tool Works—who are transforming health through Dedicated Well-Being Services, wellness champions and support from leadership.
• A client story-Fiserv shared how they have focused on infusing well-being within their organization through various tactics. This was an energizing, engaging and motivating presentation sharing practical tips for clients to bring back to their organizations.

Here’s what our clients had to say about Empower…

“I am grateful for this opportunity and incredibly appreciative of the teams that worked diligently to put this event together for us to connect, learn and even rest. The care and commitment that was put into Empower was evident in every speaker, event, and interaction, and I am thoroughly impressed by WebMD’s dedication to improving the health of a global community.”

“This was the best event I’ve been to, not just WebMD, but any event. It was very organized and well thought out. I loved the balance of “think tank” time and “mental health” time, from the 6:00 a.m. walk on the beach to the different sessions, to the yoga moments, etc. The workshops after lunch were a great idea…no time to get the after lunch sleepies!”

We hold Empower a client-only forums each year in unique, amazing locations. Be sure to join us next time to soak in the latest and greatest thinking about well-being, be inspired by your peers, and take time for yourself to relax and be well.

Wellness Champions bring passion to a well-being program and deliver real value by increasing the program’s visibility, getting peers engaged and helping to create a true culture of well-being. 

What is a Wellness Champion?

Wellness Champions are health-minded employees who serve as positive role models and provide the support, encouragement and motivation to peers to engage with a well-being program.

Wellness Champions are often called upon to:

• Promote health assessments, health coaching, screenings and special events.
• Advocate with local leadership to support and promote the well-being program at their worksite.
• Plan and participate in on-site and/or virtual activities, like wellness challenges and webinars.
• Solicit feedback from co-workers about what they want to see in their well-being program and communicate this to their HR benefits team and local leadership.

When employee wellness advocates from different parts of the organization come together, they create a Wellness Champion Network. The Network meets regularly to discuss program initiatives, employee engagement strategies and share best practices to support a culture of health across all the company’s locations, as well as those working remotely.

At ITW, Wellness Champions work together to create and elevate a culture grounded in well-being.

The Wellness Champion Network is extensive, with Wellness Champions in over 98% of business units. Because of their wide reach, the Network has been able to increase engagement with the well-being program yielding impressive results like these:

• Wellness Champions have offered over 500 events to employees.
• Employees have completed more than 9,000 onsite activities sponsored by Wellness Champions.
• Wellness Champion webinars attendance was over 2,000.

As one ITW employee shared, “Our Wellness Champions are dedicated and loyal—they do this work because they love it and there‘s no reward more meaningful than the intrinsic reward they get from being a Champion.” How’s that for peer-powered well-being?

Wondering how to create a Wellness Champion Network in your organization? Read more about ITW here, download our Wellness Champion e-book, or contact us at connect@webmd.net.

First a little background…

Aurora sits about 10 miles east of Denver and is known as the “Gateway to the Rockies.” It’s famous for its outdoor recreation and natural attractions—including beautiful parks and open spaces, picturesque reservoirs, extensive trail systems, and world-class golf courses.

With an annual population growth rate of nearly 3%, Aurora is one of the country’s fastest growing suburbs and home to a thriving arts and cultural scene.¹ Aurora is also the most culturally diverse city in Colorado. Twenty-two percent of residents were born outside the U.S., and Aurora’s public school students speak over 160 languages.²

A wellness program that serves all kinds of employees.

As the most culturally diverse city in Colorado, Aurora strives to unify communities and be a leader in creative outcomes and economic development. They carry this same innovative spirit and creativity into their employee wellness program.

City employees form the backbone of the community. About one-third are first-responders, including police, fire, and public safety. The rest of the workforce holds positions in utilities, engineering, finance, communications, parks and recreation, planning, and more.

For the past four years, WebMD Health Services has partnered with the City to develop and refine a wellness program that stays relevant for their ever-changing, growing, and diverse employee population.

A holistic focus on well-being anchors the program.

The City of Aurora’s Wellness Coordinator, Jennifer Hickey, believes that “by supporting and caring for the whole person— mind, body and spirit—we can enhance the health and engagement of our valued employees and build a culture of well-being in our organization.”

This sentiment is evident in the City’s approach to well-being, which is built around five elements: career, social, financial, physical/mental and community. This approach is grounded in Gallup research showing that all aspects of well-being are interconnected: when an employee is struggling in one area, it impacts their quality of life in other areas, too. The City also recognizes that increased overall well-being can boost job satisfaction and engagement.

A key aspect of the wellness program is “Win With Wellness,” an incentive program which includes a variety of ways—across all the elements of well-being—to earn points. The incentive period runs from March through October each year, and employees who earn 200 points on the WebMD ONE portal receive a $200 Visa gift card. Read more on the types of activities across the dimensions of well-being that earn employees points.

Spotlight on mental health.

Like workers all over the world, the pandemic took a toll on City employees’ mental health—particularly for essential workers. City data showed an increase in stress and burnout. And, the shift to remote and hybrid work resulted in a decrease in social connections and employee engagement.

To address these concerns, the City increased its mental health support with:
• More education about EAP and medical plan mental health offerings.
• Stress management tips and education in monthly newsletters, with links to mental health resources.
• The Total Brain Program, a neuroscience-based mental health and brain performance app.
• Additional community-building activities and events to help bring workers together—whether they’re remote or in person.

A special focus on manager well-being.

The City has found that engaging middle managers in the wellness program is key to empowering employees to participate themselves. The organization encourages managers to:

• Practice and promote all five elements of well-being.
• Take a “wellness for supervisors” course that teaches them how to support employee well-being and create a positive, supportive environment where employees can thrive.
• Build strong relationships and trust with direct reports.
• Demonstrate care and empathy in tandem with City-wide values: integrity, customer service, respect and professionalism.

Perhaps most importantly, managers are encouraged to lead by example by taking breaks, weaving well-being into the workday and engaging in self-care.

A Wellness Committee plays a key role in the City’s wellness program.

The Committee has over 20 wellness champions representing different departments within the City. They meet monthly to review the wellness program and plan events, like the popular Bike to Work Day, Benefits Expo, team challenges and Wellness Walks. They’re responsible for promoting wellness programs and events, including posting flyers, sending emails, and giving presentations. They also solicit feedback from peers about wellness program offerings to help create buy-in and build a culture of well-being.

A good communication strategy is essential.

The City of Aurora relies on different modes of communication so that every employee hears about the wellness program on a regular basis. Some of their go-to tactics include:

• A monthly wellness newsletter. The newsletter is emailed to every employee, and is a source of well-being info that employees have come to expect.
• SharePoint site. The intranet site is a one-stop shop for all of Aurora’s well-being offerings. Managers also use the site to direct employees to the right well-being resources.
• Communication for non-desk workers. The team still uses print for hard-to-reach populations, including flyers for breakrooms and mailings to homes.

They’ve also leaned on these communication best practices:

• Keep up a regular cadence of communication so employees know when to expect it.
• Use a variety of media to reach people in different ways.
• Share success stories. People love to hear about employees who have achieved their well-being goals.
• Use print as a “disrupter” to get employees’ attention—like postcards to homes, tent cards in cafeterias or breakrooms.

What can other employers learn from the City of Aurora’s wellness program?

The City of Aurora’s Employee Wellness Program is successful because it doesn’t just address one aspect of health, rather it considers multiple dimensions of employee well-being. An active Wellness Committee and a special focus on manager well-being, along with a steady stream of communication, makes it easy for employees to engage with the wellness program and helps create a true culture of well-being.

The results speak for themselves:
• 3 in 4 employees say employees say the Wellness Program has had a positive impact on them;
• 87% are satisfied with the wellness program; and
• 90% reported that the wellness program is a valuable benefit.

What’s next: continued program evaluation and reinvention.

Never one to rest on their laurels, the City reviews and evaluates their wellness program each year, using data on participation, WebMD ONE health assessment data, medical plan utilization, engagement survey results and employee satisfaction feedback.

In the coming years, they plan on including a mental health awareness training for leadership, promoting additional mental health programs through their medical plan and continuing weight management and health coaching options. They’re also refocusing on preventive screenings, which declined during the pandemic.

Finally, they plan to work on strengthening social connections between employees through community-building events and activities.

And, because the City is hiring new employees all the time, they want to make sure new hires get engaged in the wellness program right away. So, they are actively promoting their wellness portal and all of their wellness program offerings both during recruitment and onboarding.

It all adds up to a wellness program that continuously evolves to meet the needs of the City’s changing population. WebMD looks forward to continuing to partner with the City to empower well-being in everyone and keep Aurora a healthy, vibrant place to live and work. Click here to read more about the City of Aurora’s wellness program.

We’re always happy for the chance to talk about the well-being accomplishments of our clients. Recently, we sat down with Security Health Plan of Wisconsin during an AHIP webinar. If you missed the session, you can get all the details here, including how Security Health Plan and WebMD Health Services partner together to ensure that every member receives a personalized approach to their well-being.

About Security Health Plan.

Security Health Plan, part of the Marshfield Clinic Health System, is a 51-year old HMO based in Wisconsin and has been a client of WebMD Health Services since 2016. The first rural HMO in the industry, Security was founded to ensure that Wisconsin’s farmers, factory workers, and teachers could have access to health care at an affordable price. It’s since grown into a plan that serves over 219,000 members in 72 Wisconsin counties.

We chatted with Dave Scheuer, Security Health Plan’s Manager of Wellness and Health Promotion, to learn about what Security is doing to serve their members – which range from large and small businesses, to individuals and families, to Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

Dave started the conversation by sharing his overall well-being philosophy: educating, supporting and motivating individuals to achieve their level of personal health and wellness. That really resonated with us; at WebMD Health Services we also seek to meet participants wherever they happen to be in their well-being journey.

Here’s what else sets Security Health Plan apart from other carriers:

Excellence in customer service.

Dave attributes this to the fact that customer service representatives are dedicated to making sure that members feel heard and that their issue is resolved in the first call. As Dave shared, “We don’t want to give our members homework.” Customer service representatives also live in the communities they serve, giving them an extra incentive to satisfy members.

A constantly evolving partnership with WebMD Health Services.

The relationship between Security and WebMD Health Services has evolved over the years to continuously improve the programs and solutions we offer to members. Specifically, we work closely with the Health Plan to get members engaged in their well-being using these key program elements:

• Online Health Assessment – According to Dave, the Health Assessment is key to helping Security’s participants understand their health risks and make a plan to address them. Now that they’re on WebMD ONE, Security is happy to take advantage of the expanded question sets that address the social determinants of health and healthy equity.
• Wellness at Your Side app – The ability to access wellness program information on a tablet or mobile device is critical and increases the likelihood that people will engage with the program.
• Health tracker – Dave shared that having a secure place for participants to store biometric screening data isn’t only convenient, but also safer than using third-party trackers.
• Daily Habits – From smoking cessation to coping with the blues, SHP finds these programs are great complements to their in-person and telephonic health coaching. And they love that there are always new programs every few months!
• Health coaching – Using results from the Health Assessment and annual preventive care exam, coaches can put together a plan to address specific health needs and create real behavior change.

It’s great to see Security Health Plan taking advantage of the resources and tools on our platform to get their members engaged. Of course, as with all well-being programs, we mutually acknowledged that constantly communicating about what’s on offer is key. Bi-weekly check ins help the team stay up-to-date with product enhancements and offerings.

A commitment to Wisconsin communities.

Security Health Plan regularly partners with and invests in programs that improve the health and well-being of Wisconsin’s communities. To make sure that they stay focused on “doing the right thing for our neighbors,” Dave shared their four investment priorities:

• Alcohol and substance use
• Behavioral health
• Chronic disease
• Social determinants of health

Here are a few of the successful programs Security Health Plan has sponsored:

• b.e.s.t. program (behavioral emotional social traits) – This program provides children with skills to identify and manage emotions through weekly one-hour group sessions facilitated by a school counselor or social worker. In 2020-2021, 17 districts participated in the program and served over 200 children.
• Reducing food insecurity – Twenty-two percent of children are food-insecure in Clark County, Wisconsin, and Security wanted to do something about it. They worked with community partners to create 36 hydroponic garden systems in four different schools, and taught children and adults the importance of farming systems, eating healthy, sustainability, and growing their own healthy food.
• Diabetes in Medicaid participants – This pilot program addressed diabetes care for the Medicaid population and food insecurity. Members diagnosed with diabetes who connected with a health coach 1-2 times per month received a box of food that met diabetes dietary guidelines. Although the program is still in pilot, early feedback indicates that the box of food was a great way to keep people engaged in their health and even led to weight loss.

We couldn’t agree more that focusing on community brings multiple benefits – not only to the individuals who are directly impacted, but also in fostering that human connection that is so important in our increasingly isolated world. This type of investment in community is really a pillar of well-being for so many of our clients now.

A focus on engaging Medicare and Medicaid populations.

Dave and I spoke about the challenges of addressing the health care needs of Medicare and Medicaid populations. One of these challenges is how to understand and tackle barriers that limit initial engagement with the well-being program.

Dave described how Security is using the WebMD ONE platform to boost Health Assessment completion and reach out to participants about the importance of receiving a preventive exam. He describes these two activities as the “gateway” into the well-being program.

Security Health Plan recently allowed Medicare and Medicaid members to access the Health Assessment through the WebMD portal, versus going through the Security Health Plan’s online member site. This improved access drove completion rates up by 40%. Security also employed outreach efforts to participants who didn’t engage: if no engagement occurred within 30 days, the participant received a letter with instructions for accessing the Health Assessment; if after 45 days the member had still not engaged, they received an IVR call.

Security also uses incentives to encourage participants to have a preventive care visit with a primary care physician.  Data from the preventive care visit is invaluable in directing participants to the right programs – whether it’s condition management, health coaching, or receiving educational materials at home.

This multi-pronged strategy for engagement is working. Security Health Plan reports that from July to November 2022 they achieved an 81% Health Assessment completion rate for all registered Medicaid members.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

From community partnerships to getting participants quickly engaged to top-notch customer service and seamless integration with the WebMD ONE platform, Security Health Plan is working tirelessly to improve the health of participants across Wisconsin.

As Dave shared at the end of the session, “Our members are our ‘why’. We treat people how they would like to be treated. Our mission is to enrich lives and we’ll continue to provide innovative services to improve the health of our members and those in the communities we serve.”

To learn how WebMD Services can help your health plan members improve their well-being, visit our website or contact us at connect@webmd.net.

At WebMD Health Services, we focus on multiple dimensions of well-being to help people become healthier in all aspects of their lives. In this week’s blog, learn how Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and their employer group, TrueNorth Steel, use this approach and the WebMD ONE platform to offer a well-being program that rewards employees for healthy behaviors and gives them the tools they need to “thrive.”

Well-being programs have evolved a great deal in the last decade, building on exercise and nutrition to incorporate mental health, financial wellness, social connectivity, and clinical management. Our recent experience with a global pandemic underscored the need to care for all aspects of our well-being, and also lent clarity to the role employers play in supporting the holistic health of their workforce.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) partnered with us to create a holistic well-being program anchored by the WebMD ONE platform. Here’s how they did it.

BlueElements provides the foundation.

BCBSND created the BlueElements program in 2015 to help members become more physically, emotionally, socially, financially, environmentally, and professionally fulfilled. The program is based on the premise that a life well-lived is about more than just getting enough exercise and eating right. According to BCBSND, “Well-being is not just a reflection of your latest lab results or the number you see on the scale. It’s about taking a more holistic approach to life and enabling each individual to become the best version of themselves.”

The Thrive Program is born.

TrueNorth Steel (TNS) is a provider of steel products and capabilities for a number of industries, including agriculture, construction, mining, road and bridge construction, stormwater management, and energy. The company came to BCBSND looking for an all-encompassing rewards program that provided guided well-being education, fun challenges, and easy-to-use tools and trackers across all elements of well-being. They also wanted to include their own internal programs and values in the platform.

With those priorities in mind, BCBSND helped create the TrueNorth Steel Thrive Program. As TNS likes to say, “We want our employees to be healthy and well, but more than that, we want our employees to Thrive!”

A well-being program built around five intersecting elements.

Employees earn up to $500 for participating in a variety of activities in each of the elements over the course of the year.

Physical.

Points are awarded for things like getting a physical or preventive screening; taking a health assessment; logging daily exercise minutes; or completing a Daily Habits Plan such as Balance Your Diet, Sleep Well or Enjoy Exercise.

Emotional.

Employees are urged to record their mood with the HealthyBlue Mood Tracker; engage with a Daily Habits Plan like Keep Stress in Check or Cope with the Blues; or make a charitable donation.

Social.

To maintain positive relationships and stay connected, employees can participate in a HealthyBlue team challenge; participate or work on a community committee; volunteer in the community; or complete the Stay Connected Daily Habits Plan. They can even get points for catching a team member in the Act of Being a Game Changer or nominating a fellow employee for a “Game Changer of the Quarter” award—an example of how TNS worked to incorporate their internal values in the well-being program. Both the giver and receiver of Game Changer activities earn the points.

Financial.

TNS is focused on helping employees understand and manage finances to prepare for unforeseen challenges. Employees earn points for completing a financial workshop; having a one-on-one advising session with their financial education provider; increasing their 401(k) contribution; or reading financial wellness articles.

Professional.

This element focuses on helping employees be professionally fulfilled while maintaining work-life balance. To earn points, they can complete a continuing education course or workshop; attend a conference; join a professional organization; or watch safety classes.

Keeping the Thrive Program fresh.

To keep employees excited and engaged, the Thrive Program sponsors monthly “wild card” activities. In addition to corporate-wide wild card activities, onsite wellness champions have the autonomy to come up with special activities for their locations. Some of the more popular wild card activities have included: Go Red for Heart photo contest; 3 Random Acts of Kindness; Walk with a Buddy on National Walk @ Lunch Day; and Seize the ZZZ challenge during Better Sleep Month. TNS has plans to include activities that promote their values of inclusion and diversity in the future.

How segmentation helps.

Like many companies, the TNS employee population is complex. Employees work in different locations and comprise a wide range of occupations—like truck drivers, welders, maintenance technicians, engineers, and administrative personnel, to name a few. BCBSND and TNS work with WebMD to segment the population so they can offer a well-being program that meets the varying needs of employees—no matter where they work, what they do, or where they might be in their well-being journey.

The future looks bright.

The Thrive Program is still in its initial stages, but anecdotal feedback indicates that employees see lots of value in the program. One wellness champion related, “I enjoy that it focuses on not only physical health but also mental, financial, emotional, and professional. The challenges are creative, fun, and easy to access. At our worksite, we do a lot of the challenges as a group. This generates discussions and helps to keep us all accountable.” After the first year of the program, TNS plans to more formally survey employees to see how to improve upon their early successes.

The partnership between BCBSND, TrueNorth Steel, and WebMD Health Services works because we’re all on the same page. As TNS says, “Good health means more than a single blood pressure reading or the number of miles on a Fitbit, or a plate filled with fruits and veggies. It is a complex connection of elements, with each one affecting the next.” And that’s what makes their well-being program truly thrive!

Last year, we featured a story from one of our clients, SummaCare,

We were so happy to present with SummaCare and Mary Jo at the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) virtual conference last month. During the presentation, we learned a lot about COVID-19 and how it’s affecting well-being right now—for both health plans and individuals.

Health plans are innovating to meet demand.

Our very own Director of Product Management, Christiane Jones, described how COVID-19 is affecting health plans right now. She explained that the pandemic “has thrust employers and health plans into uncharted territory. … They’ve had to pivot quickly to provide things like virtual coaching, and how to think through a communication strategy to help make their members and their employer groups aware of all of these new programs and services that are available.”

She went on to say that, right now, it’s critical to give populations the well-being tools they need to not only navigate this crisis, but to navigate through the long-term changes that are likely to take root in our daily lives.

WebMD Health Services provides the tools members need.

To help populations with their well-being, Christiane said that we first need to help individuals learn about their own health, their personal goals, and how they can start making long-term habit changes. At WebMD Health Services, we use wellness challenges to engage populations and meet them in their well-being journeys.

One of our wellness challenges is The Invitational Team Steps Challenge. When a participant signs up, they can either join a team or create their own. There are five participants per team, and they compete against a different team each week for five weeks. SummaCare uses this wellness challenge for their members and their clients, and it’s always a hit!

Jen Yates, the Manager of Health and Wellness at SummaCare, explained that for them, a critical component of this challenge is the smart logic that matches teams up with others of comparable step counts. “This was important for a hospital system, as we have lots of nursing staff, housekeeping staff, even security that are on their feet a lot,” while others, such as desk staff or health plan employees who are behind a computer all day, may not be able to reach these higher step counts. The smart logic makes the game more fair while also providing competition in a reasonable, reachable way.

Checking in with Mary Jo.

Mary Jo works at SummaCare and participated in the 2019 Invitational soon after experiencing a heart attack. She appreciated the support and camaraderie her teammates provided.

“I had to make a lot of health changes, and I have an amazing team that I work with. … Every day, Dawn would come in and say, ‘How many steps did you take? Did you track them? Did you report them?’ We would go down to the gym and walk on the treadmill at lunch. We didn’t win a lot, but we kept ourselves accountable, and we had a great time doing it and facing a different team each week.”

This year, her team participated again and even won a few of the challenges. She said that overall, “this helped me get to where I need to be. It’s a journey. And I am so grateful that I work at SummaCare and that I have WebMD and I have Jen Yates to keep us on track and help us achieve all of the wellness things that we need to do.”

We’re so happy to see that Mary Jo has continued her well-being journey! It’s all about small choices every day that leads to a bigger goal. And to have the help and support of her coworkers is incredible. Mary Jo, we’re so proud of you!

Checking in with SummaCare during COVID-19.

Once the pandemic began, SummaCare realized they needed to increase their online presence. They promoted our products and services, shared our stress management tips on social media, and sent our on-demand webinars to all their employer groups to bring awareness to their well-being tools and resources.

Beyond that, their clients continued their scheduled wellness challenges. “They did not want to disrupt their wellness activities—they wanted to keep a sense of normalcy and add that comradery to the workforce and bring some joy back into a hospital systems workforce.”

Way to go, SummaCare! We’re so honored to partner with you and develop strategic methods to engage your populations and promote well-being—especially during this unprecedented time.

We think Jen said it best when she noted that Mary Jo’s story “truly reminds us why we are in the wellness industry and why we do what we do.” The conscious choices people make each day lead to habits that can ultimately change—and save—lives. And it all starts with engaging populations in strategic, educational and fun ways. We’re proud to be part of that journey.

Want help developing your own wellness challenges? Take a look at our e-book, How to Plan and Implement Wellness Challenges.

Related Content:

• Client Success Story: Challenges Change Lives
• Blog: SummaCare and WebMD Health Services: Bringing Employees Together One Step at a Time
• Blog: SummaCare and WebMD Health Services: After a Heart Attack, Mary Jo Found Her Motivation

For Chris, the ability to meet in person with an onsite health coach at his office made a huge difference. He says, “It’s way easier to strike up a conversation face-to-face than with a coach over the phone.” In this blog article, we share a bit about Chris’ journey towards better health and how in-person WebMD Health Coaching kept him accountable and motivated.

WebMD: How did you find out that no-cost WebMD Health Coaching was available to you?

Chris: My company had made health coaching available through our “Health Quotient” program, which encourages employees covered by the medical plan to conduct healthy activities to earn an incentive. But, it was actually an e-mail from Eric letting me know there was a live coach on-site, which I found a lot more beneficial than the coaching already available via phone.

What motivated you to first connect with a coach?

Since April 2018, I’ve been focused on losing weight and keeping it off, and it seemed like a task better done with a support team than alone.

What was holding you back from making health lifestyle changes before?

Laziness! I love carbs and hate exercise, which was a dangerous combination.

How did connecting with a WebMD Health Coach help you overcome those obstacles to starting?

The in-person accountability was great, but Eric has also been instrumental in providing a balanced approach that didn’t beat me up for my own failures like I did in my own head. Instead, it was always a focus on how we can succeed in the future.

How often do you speak to Eric? What specific things does he say or do to keep you motivated?

Eric and I meet monthly. He keeps me motivated by checking my progress against my goals and giving me his thoughts on whether my goal is still feasible at my current level of effort or if I would need to change anything.

How did your exercise regimen change after you started working with a coach?

Before working with Eric, I was focused on all cardio all the time. He helped me balance that out with a basic full-body strength routine that matches my primary goal for weight loss, while also varying cardio so I’m not just running five days a week. He has also taken the time to correct my form on certain exercises that I was not doing right.

What was a typical meal for you before you started working with a coach? And now?

Before working with a coach, it was all burgers, fries, and sodas. I had incorporated some veggies, but it was carb-heavy still. Now, a meal might be a turkey sandwich with carrot sticks, a small handful of chips, and some diet soda. The main focus has been on keeping protein levels up by encouraging healthy snacking—like replacing a bag of chips with a handful of almonds or a candy bar with a Greek yogurt.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about working with a coach, but hesitant to get started?

There are always so many reasons not to and if you listen to them, you’ll be facing your health goals alone. Think about what your “finish line” is, then share it with a coach to get his or her thoughts.  Then apply that feedback and be honest about what’s working and what’s not.

What was your perceptions of using the Well-Being Program and Health Coaching before you decided to engage with a coach? How has it changed?

Perception was a good one—I think it’s great that such a service is offered for free, and my perception has been confirmed!

Did you use any other parts of your wellness program to help you lose weight? (i.e. wellness challenges, health goals, fitness trackers, etc.)?

I’m a member of the gym available here in the office, which has also been a huge help.

How do you plan to maintain your weight loss?

Ongoing diet and exercise—I’m still counting calories and hitting the gym five times a week.  That will continue, as well as regular check-ins with Eric to be sure I’m on the right pace to cross my finish line and get below 200 pounds.

What is the most important thing you would like people to know about your experience working with a health coach?

That it’s so much easier to work with a professional than to go at it alone or work with a friend who wants to help but isn’t necessarily a professional.

How organizations benefit: what we’ve learned from over 3 million health coaching sessions.

Every day we hear stories like Chris’ that are a testament to the power of our health coaching team. Organizations benefit, too. When you offer one-to-one coaching to individuals within your organizations, you:

• Assure them that the organization values their well-being and is willing to support efforts on their behalf;
• Gain the benefits of on-site coaches who can champion workplace well-being activities like lunch-and-learn sessions, health fairs and screenings; and
• Inspire individuals who receive health coaching to become advocates. When they see positive results in their own lives, they will spread the word through their workplace social networks.

From increased morale to improved productivity to reduced health risks, the benefits of health coaching are clear. Do you have a WebMD Health Coaching success story in your organization? Please share it with us so we can feature it in a future blog. Contact us at connect@webmd.net.

Before receiving health coaching, Walter suffered from resistant/chronic hypertension, which caused his blood pressure to spike and generally left him feeling unwell. He knew he needed to make a change, but just couldn’t figure out how to start. Fast forward three years: Walter has lost 27 pounds and is no longer taking three high blood pressure medications. We sat down with him recently to learn how WebMD Health Coaching made the difference.

WebMD: What was holding you back from making healthy lifestyle changes before?

Walter: I didn’t see the value and worth in it. I couldn’t grasp the buy-in of being healthy now to prevent being unhealthy in the future.

How did connecting with a WebMD Health Coach help you overcome those obstacles to starting?

I saw that making small lifestyle changes with accountable goals was benefiting my health. I changed my mindset and it was a lifestyle change: I wanted to do better for me. I felt the coach helped me with an action plan that kept me on track. I didn’t always meet all the goals, but having them helped me celebrate my success when I did. My wife is also a great support system for me.

How often do you speak to your WebMD Health Coach? What specific things does he or she say or do to keep you motivated?

I speak with my coach every two months. If I get to the point that I hit a barrier or “rock bottom,” I can call in whenever. Even if it is not the same coach I talk to every time, another coach will have my information and past notes, so I can pick up with my goals and progress. The coaches help me try new things that I necessarily wouldn’t push myself to do, like a variety of different exercises that are not in a gym setting.

Tell me about your current exercise regimen.

I am going to the gym five days a week. I do strength training (targeting a variety of large muscle groups) and core and cardio. On the weekend I go trail bike riding with my friend. [WebMD: Walter reports that the trail used to take him one hour and now is he down to 52 minutes!]

What was a typical dinner or lunch for you before you started working with a coach? And now?

Before starting to concentrate on weight, for lunch I would have a ham and cheese footlong with veggies, white bread, with two bags of chips, a cookie, extra-large sweet tea.  For dinner, I would have mac and cheese, Salisbury steak, and gravy and mashed potatoes. I had no problems with veggies, but I did have plenty of butter with them and a side of bread.

Now I weigh everything. On a workout day for lunch it’s a chicken breast with roasted Brussels sprouts, with a snack in between lunch and dinner (1 oz. plain Greek yogurt, 4 oz. of cut-up pineapple, or 1 oz. of nuts). Dinner is grilled salmon with a veggie, baked sweet potato, brown rice, or quinoa. When I feel hungry I eat protein to stay full. I am aware of what I am eating at every meal.

The results speak for themselves.

After three years of receiving coaching, Walter has:

• Lost 27 pounds;
• Lowered his body fat by 8% and achieved a 20% body fat goal;
• Attained a blood pressure reading of 117/70;
• Eliminated the need for three high blood pressure medications; and
• Implemented a solid exercise routine and improved dietary habits.

Walter was so inspired by his coaching experience that he is pursuing a health and wellness degree through the University of Southern Florida. He’s excited about being able to work in a health coaching position in the future so he can help people before they develop a disease.

How organizations benefit: what we’ve learned from over 3 million coaching sessions.

Every day we hear stories like Walter’s that are a testament to the power of our health coaching team. Organizations benefit, too. When you offer one-to-one coaching to individuals within your organizations, you:

• Assure them that the organization values their well-being and is willing to support efforts on their behalf;
• Gain the benefits of on-site coaches who can champion workplace well-being activities like lunch-and-learn sessions, health fairs and screenings; and
• Inspire individuals who receive health coaching to become advocates. When they see positive results in their own lives, they will spread the word through their workplace social networks.

From increased morale to improved productivity to reduced health risks, the benefits of coaching are clear. Do you have a WebMD Health Coaching success story in your organization? Please share it with us so we can feature it in a future blog. Contact us at connect@webmd.net.

Related Content:

• E-book: Your Guide to Coaching Success
• Blog: Coaches’s Corner – The Hidden Library in Every Food Aisle

One of our long-standing clients, SummaCare, experienced this positive effect on company culture when they introduced The Invitational Team Steps Challenge in 2018. A five-week step challenge, The Invitational encouraged employees to form teams and compete against one another to log the greatest number of steps. The results from the initial challenge were impressive!

• The typical participant walked nearly 5 miles each day
• The average number of steps per participant was over 325,000
• On average per day, participants logged over 10,000 steps

Timing is everything.

For one participant, The Invitational could not have come at a better time. Mary Jo had just recovered from a surprise heart attack when she got an email inviting her to participate in the challenge. She joined a team, and even rescued a puppy to keep up her motivation to walk.

Her success with walking led to other lifestyle improvements, like cutting out fried foods and renewing her commitment to Weight Watchers. She’s since lost 15 pounds and is feeling great. (We’ll share more of Mary Jo’s story next week’s blog.)

A little healthy competition can be great for workplace culture.

Mary Jo reported that the step challenge brought her closer together with her co-workers. Members of her team really kept each other accountable during The Invitational. One teammate checked on the team every day to see if they had entered their steps and gave them daily updates on their team’s standing.

SummaCare offers wellness challenges to its members because it recognizes that regular physical activity reduces health risks—and The Invitational is a fun and engaging way to promote exercise. That’s extra important because the company operates multiple facilities, and looks for ways to bring all of its employees together. The Invitational was able to do that, with more than 50 teams participating. Jen Yates, Health Promotion Coordinator at SummaCare, says “Our members personally take control of their health through awareness, education, resources, and fun engagement.”

Since the introduction of The Invitational, WebMD Health Services has seen overall participation in challenges skyrocket. From 2013 to 2018, we have seen a 266% increase in overall challenge participation.

SummaCare and WebMD–partners in well-being.

SummaCare is a regional, provider-owned health plan based in Akron, Ohio that offers health plans and services to employers of all sizes, as well as individuals and families. It is part of Summa Health, an integrated health care delivery system that includes hospitals, community-based health centers and dedicated clinicians.

WebMD Health Services has been a health and well-being partner of SummaCare for the past eight years and our strong, strategic partnership has grown over time to meet its needs. We are tremendously thankful for the trust and confidence SummaCare has placed in us and thrilled to see how our work together has improved the lives of its employees.

Interested in bringing your organization together with a fun, healthy challenge? Check out our e-book, Putting Well-Being Challenges to Work for You.

Next Post: SummaCare and WebMD Health Services: After a Heart Attack, Mary Jo Found Her Motivation

Related Content:

• Client Success Story: Challenges Change Lives
• On-Demand Webinar: Wellness Challenges Success: Real-World Examples You Can Use
• E-Book: Putting Well-Being Challenge to Work for You

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) INTERACT conference held in Austin, TX.  There I participated in a panel discussion with Carla Green, Benefits & Payroll Administrator from GreyStone Power Cooperation, about “Evolving a Culture of Well-Being.” GreyStone is part of the NRECA cooperative which has been a WebMD Health Services client for 13 years (since 2006).

Mike Perko, NRECA Chief Wellness Advisor, moderated our discussion. We talked about how organizations can integrate well-being into their culture by creating a supportive environment, leveraging leadership buy-in, using wellness champions, and consistently communicating.

Here are 5 takeaways from the discussion:

1. Today’s employees are tomorrow’s retirees.

GreyStone shared that retirees are one of their largest health cost drivers. As a result, the co-op is focusing on how employees think and act about their well-being today in the hopes that these behaviors will carry over into retirement.

2. “Employees need to care as much, if not more, about their health as we do.” – Carla Green

While GreyStone has worked hard to make sure that employees’ well-being is integrated into the co-op’s mission, vision, and goals they also stress to employees how their health affects their long-term quality of life.

3. Leading by example matters.

GreyStone confirmed that when leadership is actively engaged in well-being activities, participation and engagement rates are higher. Carla shared that the organization recently held a successful “Who’s the Boss” Fitbit step challenge wherein employees tried to outstep the President/CEO. I shared some best practices from other WebMD Health Services clients as well, including three times higher engagement for a client that had leadership support versus one that didn’t.

4. Make it easy to be healthy.

GreyStone eliminates some of the barriers to healthy living. The company provides fresh fruit to employees through a local farmer’s market, encourages the use of an outdoor walking trail on the premises, and makes weight loss programs easily accessible.

5. Communication is key to participation.

In our experience, organizations who have the most successful well-being programs engage employees with multi-channel communications (think emails, monitor ads, flyers, table tents and posters). At GreyStone, there is a constant drumbeat of communication with employees, encouraging them participate in WebMD Challenges, in addition to creating their own challenges. Looking to revamp your communications plan? Our e-book, Well-Being Program Communications, can help guide you through some important best practices

We saw great excitement in the room and throughout the conference. NRECA is making well-being a business priority to improve the lives of their members and infuse a workplace culture with energy, commitment and support. To sum it up, attendees learned that when there is leadership support and involvement, onsite support with wellness champions, and consistent strategic communications, you can really maximize results and drive well-being success.

Related Content:

• E-Book: Building Your Well-Being Champion Network
• Blog: Create a Culture of Well-Being
• E-Book: Putting Well-Being Challenges to Work for You