Fit and Trim

As a clinical education specialist for Medtronic, Jenny Lim spends more than half of her time on the road.

She helps Medtronic's global sales representatives understand the science behind its next-generation medical technology, including the Endeavor drug-coated stent.

"With all of that travel, I don't eat well and I don't get a lot of sleep," said Lim, 35. "The stress really builds up."

Lim, who lives in Santa Rosa, is taking part in Total Health, a new corporate wellness program that matches Medtronic employees with personal health coaches.

Working with her health coach, Lim now has an exercise routine that includes walking three times a week.

"I definitely manage my time better," she said.

Health coaching is the latest addition to company wellness programs. While many local companies offer work site health programs -- including Agilent Technologies in Santa Rosa and General Dynamics in Healdsburg -- Medtronic is taking it to a new level.

The program is tailored for each employee, who receives coaching over the telephone and gets help setting individual improvement goals.

Medtronic, which has its vascular division headquarters in Santa Rosa, says the effort is improving employee health and reducing its long-term medical costs.

"It's an easy way for our employees to determine what risk factors they need to address and help them get on the path to improved health," said David Ness, a Medtronic vice president in charge of Total Health.

As health insurance premiums soar, more corporations are turning to employee wellness programs.

Health coverage is the fastest-growing cost for employers, with insurance premiums rising 87 percent -- almost five times the rate of inflation -- since 2000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In 2007, 64 percent of U.S. companies had wellness offerings, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a Washington, D.C., business consulting firm. This year, about 74 percent will have some sort of health management program, the firm said.

"Large corporations need to do something to control their health costs," said Jeff Marsh of Healthways Inc., a Tennessee-based health management company that provides the coaches for Medtronic's program.

By making lifestyle changes, employees reduce their risk of illness or injury, Marsh said. That, in turn, leads to savings for employers.

Insurers tie their rates to employee medical costs, so a healthy work force can reduce a company's premiums. In addition, companies pay less for worker compensation coverage.

Medtronic will invest $20 million in Total Health over the next 10 years, but it could save $100 million in costs, Ness said.

Those figures mirror a University of Michigan study that found companies can save up to $5 in direct and indirect costs for every $1 invested in disease prevention. Improved employee health also reduces absenteeism and increases worker productivity, according to the university's research.

About a third of Medtronic's employee health costs can be traced to preventable factors, including poor diet, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and lack of exercise, according to Ness.

Medtronic focuses on preventable conditions because "they're the ones we can do something about," he said.

Under Total Health, employees get individual coaches who review their health status and help them develop personal action plans. Together, they can choose from a variety of programs, including fitness, nutrition and stop-smoking classes.

Medtronic also offers free flu shots, wellness screening, a "Healthy Start" maternity program and health-conscious cafeteria selections.

Employees and coaches stay in touch by phone and e-mail. They make regular appointments to measure progress on health goals.

Coaches have access to employees' claims data and personal health questionnaires so they can tailor a program to their needs, Ness said.

"We think our program is different because of the kind of information the coaches have available to them," Ness said.

The personal health information isn't shared with the company, said Healthways' Marsh. "We want to make sure employees know their information is safe," he said.

More than 70 percent of Medtronic's 1,200 Santa Rosa employees have signed up for the program. About 8,000 workers take part companywide, and 40 percent of them have already reduced or eliminated at least one health risk, according to Medtronic.

Healthways' coaches have health care backgrounds including nursing, nutrition, physiology and health education, Marsh said. They can work with employees' own physicians to help coordinate care, he said.

Healthways provides employee health management services to a number of large corporations, including General Motors, Ford, Dell, Honeywell and IBM.

At Medtronic, Lim's coach helped her set up a regular exercise schedule that fit her globe-trotting lifestyle. The regular exercise breaks have reduced her stress, she said.

"I wanted to manage my stress level, and she gave me suggestions for keeping a structured routine," Lim said. "It was helpful just being able to talk about it."

You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.