|
Amy Adkins, marketing coordinator
Cassling
402.334.5000 ext .1142
aadkins@cassling.com
Cassling's Wellness Program Produces Real Results
Omaha, Neb. (April 20, 2009) – Soaring health-care costs have hit the U.S. hard. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that since 1999, health-care costs for private and public employers and workers have increased 119 and 117 percent, respectively. To combat rising health-care costs an increasing number of companies are implementing wellness programs. These programs address behavior and lifestyle choices that, in turn, can help improve employee health and reduce risk factors commonly associated with preventable illness. According to the Wellness Council of America, preventable illnesses make up 70 percent of the entire burden of illness and associated costs in the United States.
In 2002, Cassling, a small, privately owned company with more than 155 employees, launched its own wellness program to improve the mind, body and soul of employees. Now in its seventh year, Captain Cassling’s Journey to Wellness is a successful example of how companies can encourage employees to make healthier choices and help reduce health-care costs. Through the program, Cassling employees have been given the tools, resources and support to quit tobacco use, lose weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol and generally become more active. Ninety-six percent of employees currently participate in the innovative program.
In February 2009, employees underwent the company’s annual wellness screening. The results of that screening showed that Cassling’s wellness program had helped employees make significant improvements to their health in the past three years. Since 2006:
- Tobacco use has dropped from 11.3 percent to 4.3 percent
- High risk blood pressure has dropped from 15.9 percent to 7.5 percent
- Participation in a regular exercise program has increased from 67 percent to 75 percent
About Cassling
Cassling is a full-line sales and service distributor for Siemens Healthcare. Founded in 1984 as Cassling Diagnostic Imaging, the company helps health-care organizations in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and select counties in Illinois and Missouri, strengthen health care in their communities. In July 2008, the company name was changed to Cassling to better reflect the full range of imaging and clinical information management products, and marketing and professional services it offers.
About Cassling’s Wellness Program
Cassling’s award-winning wellness program aims to help employees and their families live healthier lifestyles through education, incentives and an annual wellness stipend. In 2008, Cassling received the Gold Well Workplace Award from the Wellness Councils of America. This award is given to organizations that demonstrate a solid foundation for wellness success.
|