Businesses offer wellness programs

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Many business leaders are increasingly convinced that "Wellness Programs" are a great path to Gr8 Health.

While very few companies offered them a few years ago, nearly all of the largest companies and most smaller ones offer some sort of plan.

Under most of the programs, employees who choose to enroll go through health testing and receive extensive follow-up information about risk factors and making healthy choices. In exchange, the employee usually gets a discounted rate on health insurance premiums.

Some companies take it beyond testing and tracking and try to introduce some creative elements.

Wilhelm Construction in Indianapolis, for example, held a weight-loss contest.

So, as they worked on notable projects like the JW Marriott or the Memorial Stadium renovation at Indiana University, construction workers for Wilhelm were also trying to slim down.

Brian Padrick, a masonry supervisor, remembers that before the contest, his weight made his job a chore. 

"Laying out walls, bent over, back hurt, made me tired," he said. "It was just a whole lot of weight to be hauling around."

Debbie Gee handles benefits at F.A. Wilhelm, the division of Wilhelm where Padrick works. She says the wellness program has a dual purpose. 

"We just want everyone to get healthier,” she said. “And also bring the premiums down, but our main goal is to make everyone happier."

Gee says those who "opt-in" to the wellness plan pay $83 a month less in their insurance premiums. The savings may grow in years to come, because of the country's health care overhaul; companies will be allowed to charge wellness participants even less and those who opt-out even more.

To encourage the workers during and after the weight loss challenge, Wilhelm looked to an employee who had already tackled weight troubles of her own. Lisa Wilde dropped 60 pounds a few years back. She agreed to serve as a mentor in the weight loss challenge

"We had a ball doing it," she said. "It helps to have people do that with you. You walk down the hall, and (people say) 'Hey Lisa - you look good! Have you lost some weight?' No, I haven't but thank you. 'You're looking good, what are you doing?' It starts a conversation. Its a support group."

Padrick, who spends most of his working hours on construction sites, says the support of his peers was crucial to his success.

"Cause when I started, it was a struggle," he recalls.  "And that's the hardest part, the very beginning.  But you just keep focused and believe it will happen.  If you stay after it, it will happen.  It's a fact."

Padrick won the challenge, dropping from 280 pounds to 212 pounds. And he's kept almost all of it off for nearly 2 years.

Through that math, it's easy to see why he and his employer are thrilled Padrick is only three-fourths the worker he once was.