Issue link: http://kusm-wichita.uberflip.com/i/260728
Dr. Elizabeth Ablah would like to see fewer donuts and more fresh fruit in your break room. She's happy that your company offers on-site yoga classes, but she doesn't consider that wellness. And tobacco users? If you're serious about trimming your health care costs, you'll stop hiring them. Ablah delivers that message – and the evidence driving her advice – to community leaders across the state as part of the WorkWell Kansas program. The initiative educates employers and equips them to create a comprehensive culture of health in the workplace. Ablah is an associate professor in the department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at KU School of Medicine–Wichita, and well known in the Wichita area as an environmental and community activist. The target? High-risk behavior. A comprehensive approach to work- place wellness, as Ablah quickly points out, differs from the piecemeal way most employers address health. "In order to be comprehensive, a wellness initiative has to address tobacco, healthy foods, and physical activity," Ablah explains. "Those are modifiable risk factors that are responsible for more than 50 percent of premature deaths in this country." Addressing high-risk behaviors in the workplace is critical to reducing or eliminating the "big four" chronic conditions of type 2 diabetes, some cancer, lung disease, and heart disease. "The majority of our time awake is spent at work. If we're not able to be healthy at work … we're not going to be healthy," Ablah said. Wellness: It takes a village. The Kansas Health Foundation and the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care collaborated to launch WorkWell Kansas. Over three years, the initiative will be introduced in 30 communities and 210 individual worksites. Wellness must be part of every company's business strategy, because it's good business, Ablah asserts. For every dollar spent on wellness, employers save more than three dollars on health care and nearly six dollars in missed work. During a workshop with community leaders in Moundridge, Kan., Ablah emphasized the difference between reactive health care and proactive wellness. "You're out walking, it's icy, and you see three cars in a row hit the same patch of ice and go off a bridge. Are you going to continue to just help those injured and watch the cars pile up ... or are you going to step out and try to stop the next car from hitting the ice?" Just the facts. And they're scary. WorkWell Kansas, with a curriculum designed by Ablah, makes recommenda- tions that are evidence-based. And the evidence for change is plentiful. In 2000, physical inactivity accounted for 250,000 deaths in the U.S. Half of Americans live with a chronic disease. Per capita health care expense has increased from $350 in 1970 to a projected $12,000 by 2015 – and only three percent of that cost is used for prevention. Though the U.S. leads the world in health care spending, we have a rate of infant mortality that's higher than eight other developed countries. And then there's tobacco use. Ablah is direct about the position employers need to consider, "Tobacco users cost you two and a half times more per year in health care than nonusers. Do you want to help them quit, or do you institute a policy that excludes them from being employed?" Environment, dogs … and kickboxing Though the WorkWell Kansas project is Ablah's current focus, she also leads the Wichita Initiative to Renew the Environ- ment (WIRE), which works to improve air emission levels, water quality in the Arkansas River, and the city's recycling options. Her academic work ranges from community-based participatory research to the built environment, worksite wellness, and health impact assessments, which are in keeping with her master's and doctorate in community psychology. She's busy. Try to keep up. When she's not facilitating, teaching, researching, or advocating for the environment, you'll likely find Ablah with Obie, her French bulldog-Boston terrier mix. Like her passion for her work, Obie ("It stands for One Big Impressive Ear") clearly occupies a central place in Elizabeth Ablah's world. Pictures of him are in plentiful supply in her office, and she started a friendly competi- tion for cutest dog photo during a recent WorkWell Kansas refreshment break. In her spare time, she's also a certified personal trainer and kickboxing instructor – her dedication to wellness is more than just talk. But she can talk. Quickly. With much energy, enthusiasm, and animation. On multiple topics ... sometimes simultaneously. And sometimes with little warning that you're about to transition from discussing bulldogs to analyzing aquifer depletion. If you're active in the Wichita community, there's a chance you'll get to work with Elizabeth Ablah. Break out the fruit, and your picture of Rover. And try to keep up. Work Well WorkWell Kansas, with a curriculum designed by Dr. Elizabeth Ablah, makes focused recommendations that are evidence-based. And evidence for change in the workplace is plentiful. Dr. Elizabeth Ablah Changing workplace culture could save your life. Tobacco smoking 435,000 18.1 Poor diet and physical inactivity 400,000 16.6 Alcohol consumption 85,000 3.5 Infectious diseases 75,000 3.1 Toxicants 55,000 2.3 Traffic collisions 43,000 1.8 Firearm incidents 29,000 1.2 Sexually transmitted infections 20,000 0.8 Drug abuse 17,000 0.7 Health risks Yearly U.S. deaths caused % of all deaths 18 19 U.S. employers average $1,700 per employee per year in lost productivity due to health issues. Half of Americans live with a chronic disease. 250,000 U.S. deaths annually can be attributed to physical inactivity. Only 3% of our total health care spending goes for prevention.