Inside Iowa State
August 25, 2000
Employee wellness program falls victim to budget shortfall
by Linda Charles
The Employee Wellness Program was
among the victims of this year's $8 million budget shortfall.
Assistant vice president for human resources Carla Espinoza
confirmed that the wellness program was discontinued July
1.
Funding for the program started in July 1997 and the program was running in August 1998. The wellness program offered a "holistic" approach to the health and well-being of university employees. Its goals were healthier employees, resulting in health care cost savings to the university, increased productivity and higher job satisfaction.
Through the program, employees could complete a personal wellness profile that assessed all areas of wellness (social, emotional, spiritual, physical, mental and occupational) and receive counseling. Wellness staff also offered workshops both university-wide and for individual units.
Data showed the wellness program was used more heavily by P&S and Merit staff than by faculty, Espinoza noted. A report presented to the Faculty Senate last spring showed that more than 1,900 people attended wellness presentations, but only 3 percent were faculty. Of the 528 employees who received personal wellness profiles through 1999, only 5 percent were faculty.
"It was sort of like preaching to the choir," Espinoza said. "Some individuals used it routinely. For some, it was essentially their health consultant. Others attended the lectures. But its use was not spread around campus."
Despite the fluctuation in use, both the Faculty Senate and Professional and Scientific Council supported continuing the program, which had originally been funded for three years -- through 1999. All looked positive for the program until the budget deficit materialized. Espinoza said at that point it was hard to justify continuing the program in light of campus-wide budget cuts and a projected increase in employees' health insurance benefits.
The pilot program did not have enough time to prove its use would be cost-effective to the university, she added.
But those who are interested in this approach to health may not be completely out of luck, Espinoza said. Human Resources is investigating the possibility of offering employees some wellness benefits through the Student Wellness Program. A decision on that is expected next spring.
Iowa State homepage
Inside Iowa State, inside@iastate.edu,
University Relations Revis
ed 8/24/00
Copyright © 1999-2000, Iowa State University, all rights
reserved
URL:
http://www.inside.iastate.edu/2000/0825/wellness.html