A healthy choice: there are benefits in providing a health promotion program at your workplace.

• Author: Myers, Deborah J.

As a business owner, you carefully monitor overhead such as wages, insurance, supplies, and maintaining and replacing equipment. These expenses take a bite out of your profits. However, many business owners overlook one potentially costly area: employee illnesses.

"Healthy employees are cheaper," said Jeff Erickson, a cardiac rehabilitation specialist at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage.

Erickson helps administrate the hospital's employee program Health Works, which began in June 2002. The program is a voluntary employee health promotion program provided by the employer. So far, employees' response has been positive.

"Initially, we had more than 200 sign up for the program," Erickson said. "I thought that was pretty good for 600-700 employees. People are trickling in still. We hope to increase the number next year."

THE BOTTOM LINE

More than just a perk for employees, health promotion programs help keep the company budget.

"If you can increase the health of your employees, you'll save money," Erickson said.

The injuries that occurred on the job are covered by Workers' Compensation insurance, which employers are required by law to provide. But if your company files too many claims, your rates will likely increase just as your car insurance premiums are prone to increase after having incidents behind the wheel.

Regardless of where they occur, injuries and illnesses that keep employees off the job hurt your company.

"We want to keep people healthy to prevent injury and illness and increase productivity, morale and attitude," said Mike Chriss, health promotion coordinator for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.

BP started its program, Integrated Health Management Strategy, three years ago.

Helping keep employees healthy can decrease the expense of health insurance benefits you offer because you could be able to go with a less costly plan.

"A lot of your profits go into health care," Erickson said. "It's hard to have a complete benefits package when you have to spend so much on health benefits."

Although starting yet another employee program may seem cost prohibitive, exactly the opposite is so, according to Carol White, who provides staff support for Take Heart Alaska.

"It costs an average of $8,000 per year for health care for the average employee," White said. "When people become involved in a work site health care program, there is a return of investment."

Take Heart Alaska is a statewide coalition of volunteers that seeks to reduce heart disease rates in Alaska.

White said that for every dollar employers spend on health promotion, they should see $1.49 to $13 returned.

Chriss estimates that BP spends $130 on health promotion per employee per year.

"It's a difficult message to educate decision makers on where the funds...