PRESS RELEASE

Healthy Returns: One company’s mission to ensure employees returning to worksites stay healthy

New York | March 30, 2022

On this second anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, we have finally turned the corner. Led by large employers such as Citigroup, BNY Mellon, Google, and Twitter, workers are returning to the office. Employers and employees alike are undertaking the work required to determine how best to do it safely.

For employers, coronavirus planning has presented no shortage of challenges. When should employees come back to the office? Will we enforce vaccination? How can we properly distance our employees to minimize risk? These challenges have been well-documented and often discussed.

However, what has been less frequently explored is the opportunity presented by the pandemic. Work has changed and evolved at an unprecedented pace over the last two years. At this moment in time, employers have an opportunity to evolve their approach to employee health to ensure they are keeping up.

Central to living in our new world, a world with coronavirus always present, will be maximizing the health of workforces. While this has always been important, COVID-19 makes it urgent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Preventing the occurrence of these conditions when possible – or diagnosing them early and managing them actively when unavoidable – will be key to a safe and productive return to work.

Just like our use of telework has evolved leaps and bounds since the beginning of the pandemic, so too must our understanding of the power of prevention. Preventive health detects factors that can leave individuals vulnerable to a more severe case of COVID-19 and reduces the risk for conditions like heart disease and cancer.

EHE Health, a 109-year-old preventive health care benefit company, is the originator and standard-barer of preventive health designed to help people live longer and healthier lives with personalized preventive care. Leveraging over a century of expertise, EHE supports Fortune 500 companies with bespoke preventive health programs to meet the unique needs of each workforce.
Here are five of EHE’s learnings about preventive health that all companies, regardless of size, and their employees should keep top of mind during the back to work transition:

1. Prevention is a journey. EHE’s one-stop-shop, white-glove exam is just the beginning of a convenient, customized, and caring partnership with patients. Health information gleaned from the exam optimizes the relationship with primary physicians, while overlaying an EHE Health Mentor to provide consultation, strategies, and tailored health recommendations year-round.

2. Each journey is unique. EHE understands that each organization and each employee’s health journey is different, and their specific circumstances must be considered. When launching a preventive health program, especially against the backdrop of COVID and return to work, the more tailored the program the better. EHE specializes in helping companies develop programs that address the needs of their employees within the context of their communities.

3. It’s important to meet people where they are. Even before the pandemic, 2/3 of adults did not receive guideline-based care. Since the pandemic, health data is even more worrisome, as over half of physicians report seeing a decline in patient health. EHE brings prevention outside of the four walls of the doctor’s office to make health care more accessible. EHE’s Pulse™ Virtual offering goes beyond standard telehealth with in-depth preventive care and guidance from the comfort of home, while Pulse™ Digital, the nation’s first mobile preventive health app with data inputs from home and personal devices, offers on-the-go customizable health resources access. EHE can also stand-up popup clinics on-site at factories and other workplaces to bring prevention directly to employees.

4. Data is key to smart decision-making. EHE provides comprehensive, holistic data for patients to understand the complete picture of their health, empowering more engagement. EHE also provides employers with workforce health data that can be segmented in several different ways to help employers effectively plan for current and future health care approaches and investments.

5. Prevention is a meaningful benefit. EHE’s innovative solutions help employees stay healthy and happy, leading to better workforce retention and productivity. As the Great Resignation shows no sign of slowing down, workplaces need to provide benefits that employees value. Health care benefits continue to resonate with employees as good health is valued now more than ever.

Having peace of mind for on-site returns is something that cannot be overlooked and is needed as we transition from pandemic to endemic. If you are interested in learning more about EHE Health, and how they are navigating the new norm, please learn more here.

Sean C Lucan, MD, MPH, MS, is the Vice President and Medical Director at EHE Health.