The pandemic dashed the hopes and dreams of Olympians who had trained and sacrificed for years to compete in the 2020 Summer Games. But those who will succeed in Tokyo in 2021 are using this time of adversity to stay fit and train hard to get faster, higher and stronger.
Of course, Olympic athletes aren't the only ones facing disappointment and adversity. The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, triggering a decrease in physical fitness and an increase in mental health issues. To prevent physical inactivity and anxiety from cascading to greater health problems, now is the time to motivate employees to reach a higher bar in terms of their physical health and well-being. Here are three ideas to help employees from the C-suite to the front lines get on track to better health:
Explore advanced health physicals and coaching for executives. Facing difficult decisions and working long hours in less-than-ideal circumstances, your business’ higher-level staff and senior executives have been experiencing high levels of stress in the last four months. An escalated and more comprehensive level of care may be needed to keep their health and well-being in premium shape.
Vanderbilt Executive Health Physicals help busy leaders make the best use of their limited time by working with executives to schedule a personalized annual physical, including all important preventive screenings, lab work and testing, in a single half-day session when it’s most convenient. The personalized, four-hour Executive Health Physical includes a full medical assessment, same-day testing and consultation, and a personalized health and wellness strategy. Learn more about the program and the measures this clinic is taking to keep patients safe and healthy during the pandemic in this video.
Encourage employees to find a primary care provider (PCP). The number of employees without a PCP is as high as 16% to 20% of the total population, according to one major healthcare payer. Though the percentage is higher among adults age 18-39, the large number of adults over 40 without a PCP is a more alarming trend since this population is at a higher risk of chronic conditions. Children without a PCP are also at risk because they need that healthcare connection to track annual wellness milestones and administer vaccinations.
COVID-19 has underscored the value of a PCP, who streamlines the healthcare journey and delivers care targeted to individuals’ needs. A PCP can be the first call for healthcare questions or problems, they can detect early signs of illness, and they can refer patients to a specialist if needed. Consider additional advantages of a PCP here.
Design benefits to focus on prevention. Recent shelter-in-place restrictions have caused the rate of preventive cancer screenings to dip precipitously. A report from the Epic Health Research Network discovered that screening rates for cervical, breast cancer and colorectal cancer screenings fell between 86–94% in March compared to the 2017 to 2019 averages.
It’s important to encourage your employees to reschedule these cancer screenings, as well as other annual wellness visits and regular checkups, to reduce the chance of preventable chronic diseases and catch health issues before they turn into larger challenges. Boost preventive care adoption among employees by fully explaining the benefits of preventive healthcare and regularly communicating the specific services offered by your company’s health plan.
And there’s no time like the present to focus on preventive care: Vanderbilt Health has restarted surgeries, procedures and clinic visits that had been paused or delayed. For those a little apprehensive about refreshing their healthcare regimen, Vanderbilt Health has put in place safety procedures to ease the mind of patients and visitors and ramped up its telehealth capabilities for certain appointments that can take place at home.
