Stretching the typical safety program

EWEB, Oregon's largest customer-owned utility, began initial efforts to integrate programs for health and wellness with its safety program in the late 1990s.

"Our overall mission with this approach has been to improve the lives of our employees," explains Douglas Caven, EWEB safety coordinator.

Solutions for a multi-dimensional workforce

"We are a diverse workforce of field and office employees, with a variety of job exposures," says Sherry Schumacher, disability program coordinator for EWEB. "For example, meter readers encounter dogs, poison oak, and slip/fall injuries; office workers are at risk for repetitive motion injuries, which is one reason that regular ergonomic evaluations are done. Safety is critical, but it also became important for us to broaden our solutions for this multi-dimensional problem."

For example, absenteeism caused by illness can have an adverse effect on worker safety. If a person is not on the job, or if he or she is there but distracted, this can cause a safety hazard for others who could become overstressed attempting to handle the additional work.

An expanding definition of safety

In 2002, EWEB formed a Safety Working Group to examine the existing issues and implement solutions. The group is comprised of EWEB's benefits specialist, safety coordinator, disability program coordinator, nurse, therapist, and others who support the idea of integrated safety and health, including members of the executive management team. With an initial focus on safety, it wasn't long before this group began to realize the interconnectivity between wellness and safety in keeping employees healthy and productive on the job.

"We wanted to take a more global approach to managing safety and health in the organization," says Schumacher. "We may all have a specific program area of responsibility, but we have prevention in common. To only focus on safety seemed too narrow."

Although EWEB had opened a fitness center with an exercise physiologist in the 1990s as a place for cardiovascular exercise and strength training, as the workforce began to age (the average age is currently 47) and health care costs began to increase, the organization expanded from a wellness/fitness model toward a more medical focus in new programs. A nurse was added, giving employees the opportunity to access wellness counseling and minor injury care, as well as weight loss programs, blood pressure checks, smoking cessation, and other health-related programs.

"Some people don't even have a primary care physician," says Laurie Muggy, EWEB's senior human resource generalist. "The nurse can help employees get onto our medical plan's website and find a doctor. If they don't have a primary care physician, they aren't getting the ongoing care, like annual physicals, that they need. These little things can make a big difference."

In addition to the nurse, a physical therapist now works with employees who have suffered sprains, strains, or injuries from repetitive motion. Workstation evaluations are completed for all new hires, and employees are continually reminded of the signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders and are encouraged to report problems early.

Employees sign on

"About 130 employees a year, or a quarter of employees, are taking advantage of the onsite medical services," says Schumacher, adding that nearly half of all employees with work-related injuries who have accessed the nurse or the physical therapist have been successfully treated onsite. Since 2000 EWEB has seen a 58 percent decrease in the number of workers' compensation claims filed (from 60 claims to 25).

The therapist also helped develop EWEB's stretching program. It began with helping field crews get in shape for their physically demanding jobs, but now also includes office employees, who gather every morning in the lobby of EWEB's main building. Although the voluntary program met with some skepticism in the beginning, it has helped build camaraderie and improve employee morale in addition to the physical benefits it provides.

For employees who have decided their health and safety depends on losing weight, the utility pays 50 percent of fees for weight loss programs (up to $500 per year). Muggy said the program is so popular that her budget doubled between 2006 and 2007.

In addition, a personal trainer has been added to the fitness center. An intern from Lane Community College's Fitness Specialist program helps employees develop their own exercise plan.

Measuring success

"It makes business sense for EWEB to support preventive programs like this in the workplace," Schumacher says, "because if we can encourage employees to lose weight and get fit, they are at less risk for injuries and for other health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Providing onsite medical services as a benefit for employees has the added advantage of helping control the cost of insurance for the utility."

In 2007 EWEB conducted a Health Risk Assessment in conjunction with its annual health fair for employees and their families. The assessment included biometric testing and health coaching with the nurse.

Through this process, employees identified risk factors and could begin making decisions to eliminate
or modify those risks. "We plan to take the health assessment to year two and beyond," says Muggy, "and to give incentives to employees for participating. We'd like to see participation at 75 percent."

The objective, she added, is to get enough data to determine what the greatest risks are, and that information will help drive future programs.

Wellness programs like those at EWEB stretch the perceptions of how health and safety are related. They also work. Historically, EWEB's most expensive injury category has been musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Since bringing the physical therapist onsite in 2000, they have seen an 80 percent reduction in MSD claims and a 50 percent reduction in their overall incident rate. Sick leave hours have also started to downtrend, and for four years EWEB has maintained OR-OSHA's Safety Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) certification.

In spite of all this good news, EWEB is not willing to relax and call its work finished. A dedicated focus on employee health continues to drive its work ahead. The Safety Working Group is now looking at several new programs, including behavioral-based safety programs to see what might be the best fit for EWEB in the future.