Marriott

Program Coordinator: Cathy Moxley

Program Director: Bonnie Grassi, Manager, Disability Life. and Wellness in Corporate Benefits

Bob Dankmyer, V.P. Corporate Benefits

Cliff Ehrlich, Senior V.P. Corporate Human Resources

Program History

Wellness & You! began as a comprehensive wellness program in 1993, funded through a budget from the Corporate Benefits department. The program's name and logo were donated from MMS's existing client food service program.

Other departments and/'or programs that existed prior to that include the Corporate Fitness Facility, Employee Assistance Program, Associate Health Services, Work-Life Programs, Healthy Expectations, and MMS's Wellness & You! food service program. We continue to work with each of these departments to provide integrated service to our target population of 3,800 corporate headquarters associates from Marriott International and Host Marriott Corp.

Program Mission Statement

The health and well-being of our associates has a direct Impact on the quality of services delivered to our customers and the resulting financial health of our company. The goal of Wellness & You! Is to identify effective methods to improve our associates' health and well-being, leading to lower benefits costs, increased productivity and morale, and improved customer service.

Our objectives are to:

• Identify individuals at risk.
• Educate associates through programs. resources. and counseling
• Motivate and Facilitate the development and maintenance of healthy behaviors
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the program

Program Statistics

• Number of people with access to program: 3,800
• Estimated number of associates who participated at some level: 1,500 (39% of population)
• Cost of program per associate per year: $35
• Estimated cost savings per participant per year: $160*
• *based on pilot study of $44, 800 estimated savings for 281 people .
• Significant Risk Reductions (Based on pilot study)
• 57% reduction for blood pressure
• 33% reduction for driving safety
• 25% reduction for alcohol use
• 15% reduction for self-care
• Healthy Expectations Return on Investment: 25 to 1**

**estimated average cost savings of $305,000 per year from 1991 through 1993

Wellness & You! was a recipient of the 1993 Maryland Governor's Worksite Health Promotion Gold Award.

Referenced: *Staywell Health Management Systems, lnc.

**Options & Choices

Wellness & You! Program Components

• Health Risk Appraisals
• Focused Follow-up for High Risk Individuals
• Health Counseling
• Monthly Newsletter
• Monthly "Why Not Take the Stairs Today?" program
• Wellness Resource Center (self-study kit, videotapes, referrals)
• Incentive Program (Awards for program participation and individual behavior)
• Classes (e.g. Low fat cooking, Weight Watchers, CPR)
• Seminars (Stress, Nutrition, Cholesterol, Self-Care)
• Screenings (e.g. Skin cancer, Cholesterol)
• Seated Massage Program
• Walking Club
• Tai Chi Classes
• Annual Health Fair

Other Contributing Programs or Departments

Employee Assistance Program

• Professional counselor on-site two days per week for personal or work-related problems

Corporate Fitness Facility

• Full service fitness facility
• Fitness Testing
• Personal Exercise Programs
• Aerobic Classes
• Recreation Programs

Associate Health Services

• Minor injury and illness treatment
• Medical information and referrals
• Lactation program (Breast pumps for lactating mothers)
• Cancer support group
• Flu Shots
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Self-Care Information
• Health Counseling

Work-Life Programs

• Family Care Spending Account
• Child Care Discount Program Directory
• Seminar Series (child and eider care)
• Alternative Work Arrangements Guidelines
• Associate Resource Line (Iimited access, not for corporate)

Healthy Expectations

• Maternity Education program for Med-Connection participants

MMS Wellness & You! (In the cafeteria here)

• Healthy food service program for contract clients in corporate services, colleges & universities, health care, and schools

Mission Statement

"The health and well-being of our associates has a direct impact on the quality of services delivered to our customers and the resulting financial health of our company. The goal of WELLNESS & YOU! Is to identify effective methods to improve our associates' health and well-being, leading to lower benefits costs, increased productivity and morale, and improved customer service."

Our Objectives are to:

• Identify individuals at risk
• Educate associates through programs, resources, and counseling
• Motivate associates and Facilitate the development and maintenance of healthy behaviors
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the program

Our program components fall into four levels of intervention, with some overlap:

(a) Awareness, (b) General Education, (c) Focused Education, and (d) Individual Counseling

• Health Risk Appraisal (c,d)
• Focused Follow-up: For high risk individuals (c,d)
• Classes, seminars, screenings (b,c)
• Ongoing programs: Seated massage, walking club, tai chi, and Weight Watchers (a,b,c)
• Monthly Newsletter and Themed Activities (a,b)
• Wellness Resource Center: Resource listings, printed materials, videotape library (b,c)
• Incentive Program: Awards for program participation, individual behaviors (a)
• Healthy Expectations: Maternity education program with $100 award incentive (c,d)
• Annual health fair (a,b)

Our target population includes 3,800 headquarters associates from Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation. The program is funded through a budget from the Corporate Benefits department. Our staff includes a program director, full-time program coordinator and part-time assistant. Consultants include in-house professionals in fitness, nutrition medicine and counseling.

 

General Information
Program Name	Wellness & You!
Company Name and Address	Marriott InternationalWellness Office, Room 130, Marriott Dr.Washington, DC 20058
Contact Person	Bonnie Grassi, Manager, Disability Life and WellnessCathey Moxley, Program Coordinator(800) 638-8108 ext. 84700 (301) 380-4700 Direct
Program Information
Program Category	Worksite
Year begun	1993
Total number of individual participants	3,800
Number of currently actively enrolled	1,487
Number of companies/groups involved	2
Access to Program	Restricted to developing organizations
Cost per participant per year	$35
Estimated cost savings per participant per year	$160 (based on pilot study)
Program targeted at Healthy People 2000 goals	Yes
Program goals (in priority order)	(1) Health outcome improvement(2) Risk factor reduction(3) Cost-effectiveness (4) Cost-benefit

Pilot Study Overview

WELLNESS & YOU! Began a pilot of Health Risk Appraisal program in 1993. The opportunity was offered to all (3,800) associates, 1,000 responded, and a random sampling of 513 associates were selected for the pilot group. The HRA was re-offered 1.8 years later to members of the pilot group still with the company (423); 281 participated. Analysis of the 281 re-tested associates revealed a reduction of risk in 11 of the 13 health areas. The estimated total savings by Marriott for the re-tested pilot group is $44,800 annually*, showing early indications of long term program success.

Pilot Study Statistical Highlights

Risks levels were reduced by 57% for blood pressure, 33% for driving, 25% for alcohol, and 18% for self-care. The number of participants with multiple risks also improved as they migrated from 6 or greater risk areas to two or fewer health risks. An HRA satisfaction survey indicated 79% were "very" or "extremely" satisfied with the program.

Additional Program Statistics

In addition to the pilot group, HRAs have been administered to an additional 238 associates. Other health screenings such as cholesterol and skin cancer yielded 352 participants. 677 associates have attended various health seminars. 1,487 associates have "points" in the Incentive program "Step Up to Health", indicating that 39% of the associate population has participated in at least one wellness activity. 83% of seminar participants have been "very" or "extremely" satisfied. Healthy Expectations is a maternity education component which has yielded a conservative ROI of 2.5 to 1.

WELLNESS & YOU! has received the Maryland Governor's Worksite Health Promotion Gold  Award for 1993.

*Staywell Health Management Systems, Inc.

• Marriott - Wellness and You

The following assessment of program strengths and weaknesses has been abstracted from reviews by the Task Force on Program Selection of The Health Project. Where weaknesses are postulated, it must be taken into account that the review Task Force is very critical, that no programs are perfect, that the Award Winning programs have been selected from over 300 candidate programs and represent the very best, that the materials reviewed may have been incomplete, that suggested deficiencies may have resulted from incomplete understanding of the program by the reviewers or that any problems may have been corrected since the time of review.

Evaluation

Marriott International Inc's "Wellness & You" program ranges from smoking cessation to ergonomic assessment. Risk levels were reduced by 57 percent for blood pressure, 33 percent for driving and 25 percent for alcohol while participants with multiple risks migrated from six or greater risks to two or fewer. The return on investment is conservatively estimated at 2.5 to 1. "Their Health Expectations" program avoided pre-term births, savings $342,000.

Thorough program design with documented savings projections. Dedicated staff. The prenatal program may save dollars but the evaluation is not sophisticated. There is a documented change in risk factors for repeat HRA participants. Wellpoints provides a good incentive program approach. The program has been generally well received by employees. It targets the Healthy 2000 goals directly. Risk reduction analysis by pre post design is convincing. An informal study shows fewer sick days for participants. Most reviewers felt there was good cost data for the "Healthy Expectations Program". There were positive evaluations from participants. The repeat HRA evaluation was a good design. Participation at nearly 50 percent was good for a pilot program but perhaps can be improved over time. The pilot study group showed savings of $44,800 annually.

We would like to see higher HRA participation rates. The pre post design is quasi-experimental rather than experimental. Participation rates in programs besides the incentive program where seen to be relatively low. The evaluation program does not have sufficient rigor to allow financial savings projections to be unequivocally accepted. The StayWell cost modeling from the pre-and-post-HRAs may not be related to actual cost experience now or in the future. There are no peer-reviewed articles nor long-term follow-up. Pilot study was only a one year duration.