Northeast Business Group on Health

Health reform encourages the expansion of workplace wellness initiatives, and specifically provides funding for workplace wellness programs in small businesses.

Employers are eligible to draw down funds once they have wellness programs in place. As the membership organization for business in New York State, New York Business Group on Health, Inc. (NEBGH) developed a repository for workplace wellness programs and, along with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), identified the needs of small and mid-size employers, and built the infrastructure to disseminate best practices for employer-based diabetes programs.

The evidence of workplace wellness programs’ effectiveness in reducing employee health risks continues to increase. This project laid the groundwork for developing a sustainable workplace wellness resource center that worked with small and mid-size employers to establish workplace wellness programs across New York State. Such programs helped employers develop prevention programs for diabetes and other chronic conditions, just as many large employers are doing. NEBGH, working together with the ADA, accomplished the following:

1. Conducted a review of best practices and evidence-based wellness programs;
2. Conducted a needs assessment of small to mid-size employers;
3. Beta tested the diabetes workplace wellness program;
4. Explored innovative technologies for employer and employee engagement that leverage emerging information management and communication technologies; and
5. Developed a model and an implementation plan for a one-stop wellness shop.