To build and maintain a successful company, business executives are always finding innovative ways to improve their bottom line. Technology and the Internet have made a great impact on how businesses operate and perform, but the backbone of any company's performance is its employees. Without employees who function at their peak every day, a company can compromise its productivity and profitability no matter how technologically advanced it is.

Read:
Taking Care of Business: Occuaptional Health Nurses Put Workers First 
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pulse, January 3, 2008)
Editor's Notes: Workplace Nurses are Versatile 
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pulse, January 3, 2008)
An Evaluation of Workplace Safety
(Case In  Point, Dec. 2007/Jan. 2008) 

Why is it important for companies to think about employee health and preventive care?
With occupational injury and illness comes an increase in healthcare benefits, workers' compensation costs, and employee time loss-factors that can seriously impact an organization's bottom line. Of the 4.2 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2005, approximately 4 million (94.2 percent) were injuries, costing millions of dollars in lost productivity and health care exposure (Bureau of Labor Statistics).  

• Promoting a healthy working environment and overall employee health and well-being prevents injuries and illnesses on the job, reducing workers' compensation claims and health-related expenses. Companies that promote employee health develop strong relationships with their employees by acknowledging that they are the company's single most important investment. The benefit for companies reaches far beyond preventing accidents or providing flu shots—employees become loyal and productive when they know that their company is genuinely concerned about their health.

I want to improve the health of my employees—what do I do now?
To know where to begin, you must first understand where you are. The first step is to determine how much your company is spending each year on its employees for health-related costs and compare these expenditures with similar companies. Costs related to health include lost time due to illnesses or injuries, employee health care costs and workers' compensation costs.  Use the Bottom Line Assessment Tool to help measure your company's spending on health care costs that ultimately affect your company's bottom line.

• To implement an effective wellness and safety program that can bring substantial savings to the company, a business should consider managing health and safety issues, workplace hazards, direct health care costs and counseling, and educating employees and their dependents. When the health and safety needs of employees go unaddressed, it often results in unnecessary and preventable costs to the company.

Healthcare costs can be managed and reduced through employee health promotion and education. Companies have occupational and environmental health nurses (OHNs) on staff to develop and oversee company-wide wellness and safety programs, as well as manage workers' compensation and governmental regulations. Other businesses make use of these healthcare professionals as outside expert consultants. OHNs can provide the following services and programs to employees:

· Assessment and Management of Health Issues
· Worksite Health/Medical Surveillance
· Case Management
· Safety Programs
· Wellness Programs
· Employee Assistance Programs
· Workers' Compensation
· Governmental Compliance
· Hazards Control and Recognition
· Ergonomics

Who can provide a majority of these services?
The following are job classifications that have effectively addressed some or all of the health-related issues listed above.

· Occupational and Environmental Health Nurse  
· Human Resource Manager  
· Benefits Manager

Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses (OHNs) blend business knowledge with healthcare expertise to promote a safe and healthy working environment for employees while cost-effectively managing overall health and safety expenditures. They understand that most injuries and illnesses at the worksite are preventable. A part of their job responsibility is to identify and reduce risks related to worksite hazards while promoting employee health through traditional clinical practices. Their understanding of governmental regulations and compliance issues has quickly proven their value to companies. OHNs function as on-staff personnel in many businesses. Companies that want the benefit of an OHN but don't have the resources to support one will outsource to a vendor or develop a consortium with other businesses to share the cost benefits of a nurse or group of nurses.

Human Resource (HR) Managers have traditionally managed issues related to employment—like governmental regulations—and work closely with health plan selection and workers' compensation claims. The role of the human resource manager is changing as businesses are growing, with added focus on training, retention and hiring rising quickly as priorities. HR managers understand governmental compliance and regulations and have worked closely with health professionals to provide assistance with decisions related to health care for employees and benefits.

Benefits Managers understand that employee and dependent benefits must be cost effective. These managers focus on negotiating rates for health plans, wellness programs, and insurance benefits for employees and dependents. These managers could also negotiate with vendors for occupational and environmental health nursing services for employees and their dependents.