Assessing Culture of Health care Organization
What are the most important factors for leaders to consider when selecting a method for assessing the culture of a health care organization? Why?Assessing Culture of Health care Organization
HCA 822 Topic 1 DQ 2
S heard suggests a “whole organization approach” as a means to positively influence culture in health care. At what point might this approach become counterproductive and create negative results? Explain your reasoning.
HCA 822 Topic 2 DQ 1
If creating a culture of shared purpose and shared accountability is truly important to the health care industry, why is it so difficult to do? Remember to provide research support for your opinions.
HCA 822 Topic 2 DQ 2
What are the most critical steps a leader can take to create a culture of shared mission, vision, and core values in a health care organization? Why?
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There is increasing evidence that a healthy and safe workforce can provide a competitive business advantage. This article shares the efforts and experience of a large global employer as it builds on existing corporate wellness and safety programs to develop a corporate culture of health and well-being. Starting with a comprehensive review of the current state of employee health and culture, a small team established the business case, aligned strategic partners, created an implementation plan, and engaged the C-Suite. The aim of this article is to provide a case study that others might use to design their blueprint, to gain awareness and to build a culture of health and well-being within their organization.
Introduction
What is a culture of health?
The classic definition of population health is “the distribution of health outcomes within a population, the health determinants that influence distribution and the polices and interventions that impact the determinants.”1 Population health is an approach that aims to materially improve the health of specific populations such as employees of an organization, members of a health plan, citizens of a community, or a nation’s population. For employers, population health typically focuses on the employee population as well as spouses/domestic partners and dependents of employees.Assessing Culture of Health care Organization
Population health is best achieved in an environment that supports a culture of health. The Health Enhancement Resource Organization (HERO), together with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, defines a culture of health as “one in which individuals and social entities (eg, households, organizations, etc) are able to make healthy life choices within a larger social environment that values, provides, and promotes options that are capable of producing health and well-being for everyone regardless of background or environment. In short, the healthy choice becomes the valued and easy choice.”2
Stated more simply, workplaces with a culture of health and wellness surround employees with the environment, policies, and cues that support making healthy choices on both a conscious and unconscious basis.3 To be successful at building a culture of health, companies must build workforce health and safety into the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
Benefits of a culture of health
Developing a culture of health and well-being is important for many reasons. In today’s competitive marketplace, it is advantageous for employers to take a holistic approach to assessing and mitigating health risks in their workforce. More than 2 decades of research suggest the importance of health and productivity as a business strategy.4Assessing Culture of Health care Organization
Employers with higher corporate health assessment scores, a common way to quantify “cultures of health,’’ tend to have a lower health care cost trend, without the need to reduce benefit services or shift more costs to their employees.5 Given that health care costs represent a significant expenditure for most employers, reducing health care costs is a competitive advantage. In fact, Warren Buffett recently cited health care as the “real corporate tax” because of the rate of escalation over the years.6
A healthier workforce is also more productive. It is estimated that for every dollar saved in direct health care costs, employers receive an extra $2.30 in improved performance or productivity.7,8 When an employee is unhealthy, first they do not perform optimally at work (presentment); then the work is not being completed in a timely matter (delayed production). Unwell workers may then not show up for work (absence), and ultimately, perhaps are even lost from the workforce (disability). All these steps have real impacts on the performance of an organization.Assessing Culture of Health care Organization
Even more compelling, other studies have shown superior stock performance by organizations that achieve a culture of health, as measured by receipt of various health and safety awards such as the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s (ACOEM) Corporate Health Achievement Award (CHAA),9 the C. Everett Koop award,10 and being recognized as a high-scoring HERO organization.11
These benefits do not mean that building a culture of health is simple or even common. In fact, fewer than half of American workers say that the climate in their organization supports employee well-being.12 It takes a concerted effort, patience enough to play the long game, and financial investment to create supportive and effective workplace cultures that support health and wellness. This article aims to share the experience of a large global employer to assist others in designing their blueprint to gain awareness and to build an organizational culture of health and well-being.Assessing Culture of Health care Organization