Hospitals, Using Single-Bed Rooms And Improved Ventilation, Work To Get Healthier
WITH hospital-acquired infections claiming more American lives each year than AIDS, breast cancer or automobile accidents, it seems the very facilities built to heal us have themselves become dangerous places.
Two million patients each year suffer from a hospital-acquired infection, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say, and nearly 100,000 of them die as a result. Architects believe that doesn't have to be the case.
To read more click on
Disease Control and Prevention.
Weight Issues Can Affect Kids' Performance At School
OVERWEIGHT kids are at risk for a host of health complications, including elevated cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. They also may do more poorly in school.
To read more click on
Weight Issues.
Tactics For Keeping Older Workers Longer
A new survey of recent retirees conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute reveals that, if employers ask employees to work longer within two years of their planned retirement date and offer them incentives to do so, many may be willing to work longer.
According to the study, respondents typically retired for one of four reasons: retirement becomes affordable, lack of job satisfaction, a desire for more personal or family time, and/or medical problems.
To read more click on
Keeping Older Workers.
Guardian Tool Helps Estimate Dental Plan Costs
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America now enables its dental plan members to point and click their way online through cost estimates on dental procedures before receiving treatment and compare the financial impact of visiting an in-network versus out-of-network dentist.
The carrier, a market leader in voluntary dental benefits for small and midsize employers, is offering its Cost Estimator tool to facilitate searches for network dentists, provides members with a link to a dental educational content site and gain access to a glossary of key terms. Also included are a provider locator, maps and directions to dental offices and tips for a healthy smile.
“Could you imagine shopping at the supermarket without product labels and price tags?” asks Richard Goren, DDS, second vice president of Guardian Group Dental. “You really wouldn’t know if you found a great deal. But shopping without a price tag is what many consumers face when they select their dental care provider.”
Article provided by Employee Benefitnews 7-22-08
Educating Workers About Heart Attacks
Dr. Boyd Lyles, corporate medical director at U.S. Preventive Medicine, offers a number of steps that employers can take to help workers avoid heart attacks.
These include providing an employee-friendly portal to preventive health care, including health risk assessments and health coaching. He also urges employers to offer health care benefits that encourage prevention and create a cultural expectation of wellness in the office.
To read more click on
Number of Steps.
Workers With Healthy Diets May Be More Productive
Employees with balanced diets have 10 times more energy, compared to workers with poor dietary habits, reports ComPsych Corp. in its 2008 Health & Productivity Index.
To read more click on
Balanced Diets.
Disease Management Program Targets Oral Health
The country's first disease management program geared specifically toward improving oral health will launch this month, Delta Dental of Massachusetts announced earlier this week.
The initiative will focus on two categories: children with tooth decay and adults with periodontal diseases. More than 51 million school hours and 164 million work hours are lost each year due to oral health problems.
The nine-month pilot program will provide education about preventive treatment to members and participating companies, and will offer one-on-one health coaching to manage dental disease in high-risk patients.
"We know that oral health is a critical component of overall health," said Fay Donohue, CEO of Delta Dental of Massachusetts. "This new program allows us to really communicate the importance of preventive care. It's one of the many steps we have taken to reach our goal – improving the oral health of all our members."
Article provided by Employee Benefit News 7/10/08
Your Seventh Sense
Sometimes all you need is a good laugh. Here's how to find more humor in your life.
Click on
Humor.
Beware Of Colon Cleansing Claims
To read the Internet ads, you'd think that our bodies were awash in "toxins" -- usually unspecified -- and that we should therefore go to dramatic lengths, such as "colon cleansing" and chelation, to get rid of all this bad stuff.
To read more click on
Toxins.
Getting a Good Night's Sleep
Did you sleep well last night? Or did you wake up feeling fatigued and sluggish -- perhaps even wondering if you really slept at all? Getting a good night's sleep requires more than crawling into bed and closing your eyes.Understanding your sleep behavior and preparing for a sound slumber can help make sure every night is a good night for sleeping.
To read more click on
Sleeping.
Waiting For The Doctor, Questions In Hand
Many patients in a holding pattern turn to escapist reading. But by using the time to list their symptoms and questions, they can better position themselves to get the most out of their doctor's expertise, experts say.
To read more click on
Symptons.
Job Satisfaction On The Rise, SHRM Finds
Employee job satisfaction has risen slightly this year, with 41% of employees reporting that they are "very satisfied" with their jobs, according to new data released by the Society for Human Resource Management.
To read more click on
Employee Job Satisfaction.
Vitamin Maker Builds Responsible Culture
Payroll deduction has proven to be a powerful employee motivational tool in meeting health and wellness goals at Nature's Sunshine Products Inc., a Provo, Utah-based manufacturer of herbal and vitamin supplements with 500 full-timers and 75 part-timers.
To read article in its entirety, click on
Wellness Goals.
