Making Preventative Care A Company Model

Making preventative care a company model takes guts, time and conviction for a company to be able to fully implement any change that seems to engage the personal lives of their employees.People act like getting fat is a right in the United States that doesn't affect anyone but the fat people.The fact of the matter is that those who are overweight are more than just a burden to themselves; they are a burden on the healthcare system, on insurance companies and on those people who have healthier habits.It is ridiculous to believe that drinking vast amounts of soda is a right and not a privilege.

To start with, the company's upper management has to commit to the program of preventative care.That means showing up at events where preventative care is the topic and adopting preventative care health habits.Those who smoke will need to stop smoking.Diets will need to change, and preventative care visits to the doctor and dentist should be publicized.To further support these efforts, upper management needs to not only endorse the program, but also enforce the program.It must be made known that employee's get paid time off for doctor and dentist visits even if they are only preventative.
In order to help habits change more quickly, a company will need to rid its break room of all unhealthy opportunities.Vending machines will need to be cleared out of all chips, cookies and other processed foods and replaced with whole foods that are plant based.Vending machines are not the only things that need to be changed.The company cafeteria or café will also need to serve only healthy items, and meat and milk are not on that list.If a food truck is allowed onto the company's property to provide food service, it will need to be one that specializes in whole food, plant based foods.In Western society, we eat far too much meat as it is.Studies have shown that meat increases the incidence of heart disease, and milk increases the risk of cancer.Employees will scream when they can no longer get a hamburger or hot dog at the company café, but in the end it will make them healthier or save them money.
The company can also provide resources for support groups that will help people to stop smoking and lose weight.The most important part of a preventative program, though, is that it not be just another idea that helps the company save money.It must be a program that shows that the company cares about its employees and their health for more than monetary reasons.Part of that caring can be celebrating successes.When a particular employee reaches a personal health milestone, it can be celebrated.The celebration can help create a mythology and a common vocabulary that will create a corporate culture, and culture is not an easy thing to create.
It is likely that the company already has a corporate culture in place.As anyone who travels will tell you, it is often difficult to adapt to a new culture and adopting a preventative care model for business is no different, especially if the culture has been one of quick or no lunches eaten at the desk, lots of meat and cakes at parties and copious amounts of coffee to keep the energy high and the calories down.The new corporate model may include instead healthy celebrations, breaks every two hours and a lunch group that goes for a walk.These changes may seem difficult to make, but with diligence, time and commitment, the company will actually see rewards including higher productivity, energy and lower health insurance premiums.