Crown Equipment Corp says an employee health program it introduced in 2004 has improved the health of its workers and reduced company health care costs.

Today, more than 92% of Crown employees join the HealthWise Program that Crown developed with the University of Michigan.

According to the US forklift manufacturer, more than half Crown's employees now fall into the low health risk category, 12% more than before the program began.

HealthWise provides health benchmarks and personal risk analyses for Crown employees and their spouses. Individuals are placed into health categories (low, medium or high risk) based on their health risk appraisals (HRA).

The HRA considers risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, exercise level, smoking and diabetes. Low risk is defined as not more than two risk factors and high-risk individuals have five or more risk factors.

Employees and spouses receive health advice based on their HRA results. The program includes wellness screenings, access to a fitness-focused website and advice on healthier food choices.

James R Heap, Crown's corporate medical director, says the program has met its objective.
"We significantly increased the number of low-risk employees and reduced the number at high risk."

Heap presented results of the program at a "Health Management as a Serious Business Strategy" session at the Joint Forum on Health, Productivity and Absence Management at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC, on October 23.

During the presentation, Dr Dee W Edington, from the University of Michigan, addressed the risks and costs of a "do-nothing" strategy. Wayne Burton, from JP Morgan Chase, discussed the business case for effective health and disease management programs.