HHI Series: Investment in Employee Health & Wellness with a Research Update from Vanderbilt Health

Overview

Session Description

Increasingly businesses are discovering the linkage between employee well being, employee engagement and business performance.

Ironically, hospital workers are sicker than the general population. Health, wellness and the physical environment play a critical role in staff engagement and quality performance. There is a high correlation between patient satisfaction scores and staff engagement, as well as between employee engagement and financial success.

What drives employee engagement? 1. Worker engagement is improved when the staff perceives that leadership cares about their well-being, and 2. staff engagement relates to the health of the work environment. Staff engagement and the health of the employee is a business issue and if wellness and environmental stewardship programs are not given adequate funding or support, the downstream impact of quality and satisfaction will be impacted.

Join us for a call with employee engagement expert Eric Parmenter who will share research and evidence around the business value of investing in health and wellness. Eric will discuss the poor health of the hospital workforce, the drivers of employee engagement and the key tenets of successful wellness programs.

Mary Yarbrough, MD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine and Executive Director of Faculty/Staff Health and Wellness Program for Vanderbilt University will share a case study from her work at Vanderbilt (which resulted in 25 percent reduced costs associated with staff health care costs) and an overview of employee wellness initiatives through the World Health Organization and CDC’s model for a healthy work place and the emphasis on a healthy environment. This blueprint provides a foundation for the business case for healthier environments. Dr. Yarbrough will also share tips on evaluation and innovation in developing partnerships and the relationship between wellness and environmental stewardship at Vanderbilt.

Learning Objectives

Understand the business case and return on investment for engaging the health care worker.
Recognize the link between an engaged worker and a reduction in health care costs.
Take away tips to link employee wellness to health care spending.
Understand one organization’s success in linking wellness with environmental stewardship activities.

Presenters

Eric Parmenter, Vice President Employer Services at Evolent Health

Eric Parmenter, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, RHU, REBC, SPHR, CEBS, MBA is Vice President of Employer Services for Evolent Health. He is a former Vice President of Consultant at HighRoads and Senior Consultant and Principal with Towers Watson. He has worked in the employee benefits business for over 25 years, serving as an adviser to his hospital and health system clients, developing innovative total rewards strategies that align with client needs, objectives and strategies.
Eric is a recognized national leader in the hospital health system industry and a recognized expert on the impact of Health Care Reform on health care providers. He is a consultant with deep experience in health plan strategy, design, wellness and productivity.

Dr. Mary Yarbrough, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Executive Director of Faculty/Staff Health and Wellness Programs, Vanderbilt

Dr. Yarbrough earned an M.D. from Vanderbilt and an MPH from Johns Hopkins. She completed residencies at Vanderbilt (Internal Medicine) and Johns Hopkins (Preventive Medicine and Public Health) and is boarded in Internal Medicine, General Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and Occupational Medicine. She is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt. She is the Executive Director of Vanderbilt’s Faculty/Staff Health and Wellness Programs, which includes the Occupational Health Clinic; the Child and Family Centers; Work/Life Connections--EAP, including the Faculty/Physician Wellness and Nurse Wellness Programs; and Health Plus, Vanderbilt’s health promotion program. Previously she served as a Luce Scholar in Sabah Malaysia, as a consultant to the World Health Organization, and as Director of Environmental Epidemiology for the Tennessee Department of Health.