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BBGH Wellness Coordinator passionate about healthy lifestyles

BBGH Wellness Coordinator Dan Newhoff

Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Wellness Coordinator Dan Newhoff has been a healthy lifestyle enthusiast ever since he came on board at The Rehab & Wellness Center as a rehab tech five years ago. The fact that he has a degree in Exercise Science from the University of Nebraska, Kearney, soon pointed him in the direction of becoming the hospital’s Wellness Coordinator. “I’ve held this position for four years now, and am enjoying it very much,” he said.

He said the hospital’s mission statement to lead and innovate in healthcare delivery and community wellness was the driving factor for BBGH to start a wellness program for its employees. It made sense that if the hospital was to be a leader in community wellness; it had to demonstrate that commitment by providing wellness support for its own employees.

“We had a wellness committee that I got involved in, and I was soon selected as chair,” Mr. Newhoff said. “The administration saw the value of providing support for employees who wanted to participate in physical activity, weight reduction, and reduction of stress levels. The hospital knew that employees who are healthy are happier, both in their personal life and at their workplace. They become more productive and have less absenteeism. Another driver was the fact that back then we were a self-health insured organization, which meant that by increasing our employees’ health status the hospital would see decreasing health insurance payouts.  That’s an obvious win-win situation. “

The hospital has partnered with SimplyWell over the years to help develop its wellness program. SimplyWell was founded in 1998 by a group of medical professionals in Omaha, NE who shared a vision of improving patient and employee wellness and workplace productivity, while reducing the costs of health care. “They provide intuitive health scores for our employees after obtaining their biometric data each November,” Mr. Newhoff said. “All employees participating in our wellness program have biometrics done once a year: Body Mass Index (BMI) measured, as well as blood pressure, weight and lab tests. They’re also asked to take an online survey or quiz that measures their stress levels, nutritional intake, if they smoke, etc. That provides a risk profile for the medical professionals at SimplyWell. Both the objective biometrics and health risk profile provides a baseline on how they’re doing and what goals they should set to improve their health.”

Graphic 1

Graphic 2

The number of employees enrolled in the BBGH wellness program for 2016 is 178, or 69 percent of a total employee pool of 265. That’s been steadily increasing as the years go by. Data provided by SimplyWell over the years also shows a steady improvement for hospital participants. Data for 2016 indicates 92 percent of enrolled employees view the overall health culture at BBGH as either Excellent (52%) or Good (40%). As far as how individual participants perceive their own health, 82 percent feel either Excellent (19%) or Good (63%) about their health.

Data also confirms that the hospital’s wellness program is working for most participants. For example, employees with a health score of 85+ (considered healthy by national standards) improved to 64.9 percent in 2015-16 compared to 53.5 percent in 2014-15 (see Graphic 1).  As far as health risks, only 11.1 percent are current smokers compared to 19.6 percent national average; 74.8 percent are usually able to cope with stress effectively; 79.3 percent eat three plus servings of fruit per day and 83.7 percent eat three plus servings of vegetables per day; compared to a national average of just 23.5 percent in both categories (see Graphic 2).

So how do employees who participate in the program feel about it?

BBGH Greeter Mimi Roller on boarded on January 6 of this year. “In October of 2015, I weighed174 lbs. and had made a decision that I really needed to live the last third of my life as healthy as possible,” she said. “When I started work here I weighed 152 lbs. But when I enrolled in the wellness program, I really took off health wise. Dan is such a motivator. He encouraged me to try exercises I’ve never considered before, such as running. I’ve never run in my life! But now I run every day. I’ve never felt heathier.” Ms. Roller now weighs just 127 lbs.

Another participant in the program, Physical Therapist Andy Leider, has always tried to keep fit. He joined the hospital in August of 2015, right after obtaining his doctorate.  “Being fit, that just comes with being a PT,” he said. “You know your body will work better if it’s in shape. But what the wellness program did for me when I signed on was improve my health in other ways. Instead of just doing weights, Dan suggested I started doing exercises that would improve my cardiovascular health and it has really made a difference.”

Mr. Newhoff receives those kinds of comments almost every day. “People tell me they’ve got their energy back, or ask, ‘Hey, I’m starting this running regime. What do you think about that?’ When people are engaged in their wellness they really want to share that progress. It’s an indication to me that there is a definite shift in our culture here at BBGH. As far as physical activity goes in our organization this is the most engaged our employees have been … ever.”

The hospital also provides numerous wellness opportunities for the community at large. It helps with a diabetes prevention program, the Alliance Grime Time Adventure Race, Building Healthy Families classes, health care screenings at the Health Fair, the Fitness Center available to community residents, healthy vending options at the hospital and walking programs, to name just a few.

Mr. Newhoff concluded by stressing that wellness programs for employees can be developed no matter what size a workforce a business may have. Businesses from five employees to 300 have a great resource in the Panhandle Public Health District (PPHD) Worksite Wellness Council, which Mr. Newhoff chairs. It serves all the counties in the Panhandle. “It’s specifically designed to help employers get worksite wellness programs going at their business,” he said. “It assists organizations that aren’t able to hire a full time wellness individual. They have staff that comes in to take risk assessments and biometric screenings of employees. They’ll then inform those employees about their health risks and ways to alleviate them. Maybe an employee would like to ride a bike for exercise, or swim, or walk; whatever form of exercise that is most attractive to the employee.” There is a fee, but it’s miniscule when compared to the benefits both the employer and employees receive. “The Worksite Wellness services provide a minimum of a 5:1 financial return-on-investment. Organizations are often surprised at how minimal membership dues are for what they tangibly receive in return. Businesses interested in checking out the benefits of council membership can receive a discount for the remainder of 2016,” he concluded. Businesses wishing to find out more can do so by calling PPHD Worksite Wellness Coordinator Jessica Davies at 308-487-3600 Ext. 101.

Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.