Center for Workforce Health Improves Corporate Wellness, Bottom Line

9/17/2002

From: Kimberly Sikora or Jennifer Boone, 703-683-4815 both for the Center for Workforce Health

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 17 -- ISA Associates, a leading behavioral health research and development firm, has recently launched the Center for Workforce Health (CWH). The Center is the first such resource of its kind, dedicated to improving the health of America's workforce and reducing healthcare costs for employers. With research funded by the National Institutes of Health, CWH has developed a variety of innovative, Web-based programs addressing many of the health issues that plague the workforce, such as weight management and nutrition, stress management, parenting challenges and substance abuse.

"Because Americans spend most of their waking hours at work, it only makes sense for employers to provide state-of-the-art health programs on the computer," says Royer F. Cook, Ph.D., Director of CWH. "By using the products and services offered through the Center for Workforce Health, employees will get scientific, expert guidance on health and family issues and employers will see an increase in productivity, a decrease in absenteeism and turnover and a reduction in related healthcare costs."

The Web-based instructional tools, also available on CD-ROM, are accessible at the privacy of the employees' own computers. These programs motivate and instruct the user with interactive audio and video segments. Each of the programs has been rigorously tested and proven effective in achieving behavioral change. Available programs include Fat Smart, Tobacco Free, Alcohol Savvy, and Parent Power. Cook and his colleagues have studied employee health and productivity for nearly two decades. As an expert in this field, Cook says health promotion is the key to productivity and that online programs are still vastly underutilized for this purpose.

About ISA Associates Based in Alexandria, Va., ISA Associates specializes in the application of behavioral science research to issues of health and public safety and has received nearly $10 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health. The Center for Workforce Health has a staff of health psychologists, health promotion specialists and information technology experts with years of experience in the development and implementation of workplace health promotion.

CWH also offers corporate needs assessments, which include analyzing current healthcare utilization and costs, implementing health promotion programs and establishing a drug-free workplace. For more information on products and services from the Center for Workforce Health, visit their Web site at www.centerforworkforcehealth.com.