Kaiser Permanente: Company wants
employees to serve as role models in community
Carman stopped exercising after leaving the military in 1991, and
the pounds began piling on. But after his father died at age 54, and at the
urging of his daughter, a nursing student, Carman decided in 2012 to start
making a change.
He credits Kaiser’s Live Well, Be Well program for his improved
fitness. Carman dropped 40 pounds since starting the program and trimmed 6
inches from his waist. And in September, he was able to stop taking the blood
pressure medication he’d been on for 10 years.
Carman ran in the December marathon as part of a four-member relay
team with his daughter and friends. His goal is to run half the marathon this
year, and the entire course in 2015. He’s also working on losing another 20
pounds.
The constant encouragement Carman receives through Kaiser has
helped him overcome his biggest obstacle: sticking with his exercise program
consistently. “I’m just very grateful for everything my employer does,” Carman
said.
While many employers encourage a healthy workforce, Kaiser, which
employs 66,000 in its Northern California region, including 12,000 in the
Sacramento area, has an additional motivation as a health-care provider.
“We want all of our staff and physicians to be role models for our
community,” said Dr. Richard Isaacs, physician-in-chief of Kaiser
Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center.
Kaiser’s program offers more than 250 wellness options that focus
on six categories: physical activity, healthy eating, emotional health,
prevention, healthy workplace and healthy community.
Issacs, a head and neck surgeon, said
the program has caused a cultural transformation at the company, reducing
absenteeism and making employees happier and more engaged.
“I’m watching our employees actually transform their lives,” Isaacs said. “They look different. They
just exude health.”
Employees encourage colleagues to get involved, take lunch-time
walks or train for competitions. There are free exercise classes, with yoga,
Zumba and boot camp among the popular options.
Employees can track their health improvements online and enroll in
a wellness university, where they earn credits and even graduate.
To encourage healthy eating, there are on-site farmers markets and
employee gardens at Kaiser’s South Sacramento Medical Center, as well as at
offices in Davis and Rancho Cordova. There, workers grow vegetables and chefs
demonstrate healthy cooking techniques.
The program’s emotional health component encourages employees to
pursue creative outlets. Toward that end, the South Sacramento Medical Center
held its third annual art show March 28, where physicians and employees
displayed paintings, photographs, sculptures, quilts, beadwork and floral
arrangements.
