Who would have thought workplace fitness would become such an essential part of employment? Initially, the focus was on healthcare employees who were strongly urged to lead by example. They were required to get in shape and gain better health or face financial penalties. While many shirked at the thought, it quickly became the norm.

Most healthcare employees have reluctantly accepted to submit personal health information such as body mass index, weight and blood-sugar level in exchange for better health insurance premiums and leaved penalties. Today, this is expanding to other industries as companies introduce new health penalty policies.

This expansion will continue and the penalties will become steeper until the goal of a healthier workforce is achieved. Call it force or call it choice — this may very well work as what it comes down to is employment or unemployment. It’s a no-brainer. So consider yourselves informed.

Attesting to this movement is the article on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7, 2013, “Shape Up or Pay Up: Firms Put in New Health Penalties.” In this story, corporate leaders say “they can’t lower healthcare costs without changing workers’ habits.” This feeds into the findings by behavioral economists that “people respond more effectively to potential losses, such as penalties, than expected gain, such as rewards.”

Welcome to the new norm! Your employer will no longer be Mr. Nice Guy. You know what? We have become the targets of our own lifestyle choices. While we can, we have to make smarter choices. Soon, we will be forced to make these choices as this norm is coming to a job near you. Make the choice today, as you will be glad you did!

This week, the American Association of Public Health is sponsoring National Public Health Week. You can find much of the information blogged about this week at: http://www.nphw.org/tools-and-tips/themes/empowering-a-healthy-community.

Did you know?
• More than 80 million U.S. residents do not have access to fluoridated water, which reduces tooth decay by 25 percent. Every dollar spent on fluoridation saves more than $40 in dental care.
• Despite high immunization rates in the U.S., about 42,000 adults and 300 children die every year from vaccine-preventable disease. Every dollar spent on childhood immunizations alone saves $18.40.
• If 10 percent of adults began regularly walking, $5.6 billion in heart disease costs could be averted. Also, a sustained 10 percent weight loss could reduce an overweight person’s lifetime medical costs by up to $5,300 by lowering the costs linked to hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and high cholesterol.
• More and more research finds that community health workers can help reduce health care costs. For example, in Baltimore, community health workers helped residents with diabetes better self-manage their health, resulting in a 27 percent decrease in Medicaid costs.
• If every state without a comprehensive smoke-free policy adopted one, they could reduce smoking-related deaths by 624,000. They would also save more than $316 million in lung cancer treatment and more than $875 million in heart attack and stroke treatment over five years.

What Can I Do?
• Stay up to date on recommended vaccinations for yourself and your loved ones.
• Look up the national Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to see how much physical activity you should get on a daily basis and encourage family and friends to do the same. Visit www.health.gov/paguidelines to learn more.
• Support local farmers markets and other access points to fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s not only good for your health; it’s good for the local economy too.
• Join your Neighborhood Watch program.
• Inquire about volunteer opportunities at community health centers.
• Take part in national health observances, such as National HIV Testing Day, National Youth Violence Prevention Week and National Minority Health Month.
• Submit a letter to the editor to your local newspaper about what you learned during National Public Health Week!

For local health metrics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, please go to: www.healthyntexas.org.

This week, the American Association of Public Health is sponsoring National Public Health Week. You can find much of the information blogged about this week at: http://www.nphw.org/tools-and-tips/themes/empowering-a-healthy-community.

Did you know?
• More than half of drivers and passengers killed in car crashes in 2009 were not wearing restraints.46 In just one year, traffic-related deaths and injuries to drivers and passengers cost $70 billion in medical costs and lost productivity;
• In 2010, more than 4,200 pedestrians died in traffic crashes — a 4 percent increase from 2009.That same year about 70,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic crashes;
• More than 600 bicyclists died in motor vehicle crashes in 2010 and 52,000 were injured;
• More than 15 people are killed every day in the U.S. and more than 1,200 are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver;
• Motor vehicle-related injuries are the leading cause of death among U.S. children.51 However, child safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for children ages 1 to 4 years old;
• Up to $11.80 in benefits can be gained for every $1 invested in bicycling and walking opportunities. States with the highest levels of biking and walking also have the lowest levels of costly chronic disease, such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

What Can I Do?
• Always buckle your seat belt no matter how short the trip and don’t be shy about reminding others to do the same;
• That text message can wait! Don’t text while driving. Learn more at www.distraction.gov;
• Never drive impaired or let friends or family drive impaired. If you know you’ll be drinking alcohol, make plans in advance that don’t require you to drive, such as having a designated driver;
• Be an alert pedestrian — always be mindful when using intersections;
• Always wear a helmet when on a motorcycle or bicycle. If you’re a driver, be mindful that you’re sharing the road with more vulnerable travelers;
• Become familiar with the proper vehicle restraint systems for your child depending on his or her weight, height and age. For example, infants and toddlers through age 2 should be placed in rear-facing child safety seats, while children ages 2 to 4 should be placed in forward-facing child safety seats;
• Get involved with efforts to promote safe biking and walking to school, such as your local Safe Routes to School Program;
• If possible, choose to walk or bike to daily destinations, such as to work or school. Choosing biking or walking over driving is an easy way to integrate routine physical activity into your life.

For local health metrics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, please go to: www.healthyntexas.org.

This week, the American Association of Public Health is sponsoring National Public Health Week. You can find much of the information blogged about this week at: http://www.nphw.org/tools-and-tips/themes/empowering-a-healthy-community.

Did you know?
• In 2011, more than 4,600 workers died in the United States due to an injury on the job;
• While fatal work injuries declined for white workers in 2011, such injuries rose among Hispanic workers by 3 percent. Fatal work injuries also rose among workers ages 20 to 24 by 18 percent;
• In 2009, about 572,000 violent crimes, such as rape, robbery and assault, happened against people ages 16 and older while they were at work. Also in 2009, more than 500 people were victims of homicide while at work;
• In 2011, musculoskeletal disorders made up 33 percent of all work-related injury and illness cases;
• The cost of obesity among full-time employees tops $73 billion, which includes the total value of lost productivity and medical costs;
• Research finds that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar invested in workplace wellness programs.

What Can I Do?
• Understand and follow all workplace safety regulations and best practices. Don’t stop at doing the minimum — go beyond Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards;
• Educate employees about workplace safety regulations and train employees to recognize unsafe or unhealthy settings. Depending on your workforce, make sure safety training is available in multiple languages;
• Create a work environment in which workers feel comfortable reporting unsafe work conditions or workplace abuse;
• Provide the required equipment to keep workers safe, such as respiratory gear and hard hats;
• Hold your subcontractors accountable for implementing safety standards and trainings;
• Put in place mechanisms for recognizing and addressing the potential for workplace violence;
• Even our homes can be workplaces. If you employ domestic workers, such as health care aides, nannies or house cleaners, learn what it means to be a responsible employer;
• Practice fire safety drills and prepare your workplace for an unexpected emergency or disaster;
• Take simple steps to create workplace wellness, such as posting hand-washing reminders, catering meetings with healthy foods or organizing workplace walking groups. Reach out to your local public health department — they can help. Also, if you provide employer-based health insurance, consider certain financial incentives that can improve health, such as incentivizing employees to quit using tobacco.

For local health metrics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, please go to: www.healthyntexas.org.

The acronym “HAC” does not sound appealing. When you learn it means Hospital-Acquired Condition, you know there is nothing appealing about it at all. If you have been a patient on the receiving end of a HAC, you can confirm it’s as unpleasant as it sounds. Many of us have read stories about patients who went to the hospital to be treated for one diagnosis and ended up with complications.

Ultimately, no one is perfect. We all have areas for improvement. Every year, we set goals to work on ways to make us better. In North Texas, we are lucky to live in an area where so many medical providers work in partnership through the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation (DFWHC Foundation) to continually improve the quality of patient care and reduce HACs. Many North Texas facilities participate in a Hospital Engagement Network (HEN). This program assists hospitals in education and implementation of best practices to ensure patients do not acquire infections during their stay.

Through our Business Intelligence Tool (BI) MyIQ Analytics, we have been able to give hospitals the ability to analyze how they are doing in patient safety compared to regional, state and national levels. This analysis can point hospitals in the right direction when setting goals.

Through our partnership and the support of the HEN, we were able to design a dashboard report that assists North Texas hospitals to access information in order to inspire meaningful change. Through our ability to obtain quality data in an efficient manner, we’ve been able to succeed in reducing HACs. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services reported only seven out of the 50 HEN’s in the U.S. have hospitals showing improvement. The DFWHC Foundation was one of the seven, with six facilities within our HEN displaying improvements in six or more HACs.

Congratulations to those hospitals! For more information, please contact Theresa Mendoza at tmendoza@dfwhcfoundation.org.