Healthcare costs employers billions each year through medical premiums and missed workdays. Yet, for the top causes of those escalating costs—high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity—the best medicine is often lifestyle change. Most employees, even if they want to make healthy changes, simply don’t have the tools or support to do so. Employees who would be open to changing their diet, for example, may not know what changes to make for their specific health condition and well-meaning doctors often aren’t able to offer specific guidance.

This is where the Pinnacle Health Management (PHM) Wellness Program can make a difference. PHM Wellness focuses on helping clients change their lifestyle habits before they run into major health problems or make proactive changes after they’ve begun to experience health problems to improve their health outcomes.

PHM Wellness does this through evidence-based programs that focus on the four pillars of health: nutrition, fitness, quality sleep and stress management. By making positive changes in these areas, clients can make measurable changes to their overall health. Just as every employee has different needs, so do employers. With PHM Wellness, employers can choose from different wellness program offerings to meet the needs of their workforce and improve their bottom line.

The variety of PHM Wellness programs include coaching as well as educational initiatives, all of which invite participants to take charge of their health and lead more balanced lives.

Through individual coaching, employees can work on their health goals and focus on one or more of the four pillars of health or weight management. They get the support of a knowledgeable coach who will craft a personalized health plan and hold them accountable, while helping them navigate challenges. Our clients have lessened their need for medication, lost weight, started exercising, and improved their mindset and overall wellbeing through coaching.

Quarterly wellness challenges dive deep into different aspects of wellness. These are broken down into simple weekly emails and mini-challenges that provide practical tools to help participants make small, but sustainable habit changes. Employees are invited to participate, challenging themselves to create new healthy habits, with a chance to win prizes at the end. Participants get to share their experience through end-of-challenge surveys, helping us to continually refine our offerings.

Our newest initiative, a monthly podcast called To Your Health, features conversations with wellness leaders, who share the latest science in wellness and best practices for building healthy habits. This is not the same health information you learned in school. Each episode goes beyond much of the outdated idea of “healthy” we’ve come to know and taps into what it means to live a balanced, happy and healthy life. Guests are established in the health and wellness field, from lifestyle and functional health physician Dr. Jay Benson to Dr. Eric Smith of the TLC show 1,000-Lb. Sisters.

We also share a variety of educational materials to support employees in creating healthy habits. Our monthly webinars include practical tools employees and their family members can apply to their life. Past webinars have focused on sugar and its effect on our health as well as tips to navigate the Daylight Saving Time change. Monthly Wellness and Safety Toolkits cover topics, such as tips for shopping at the grocery store to sun safety. The quarterly Fresh Air newsletter features seasonal tips on health and wellness, such as sticking with exercise during the holiday season.

All of our programs are inclusive and meant to support employees making healthy changes they can stick with for the long-term.

If you don’t have a WGAT plan, which includes a care management program and the added option of a Pinnacle Health Management Wellness Program, contact us to see how we can help you better manage your health care costs at (800) 333-4942.