Corporations

"Best-In-Class Workplace Complete Health Improvement Program" WELCOA (Wellness Council of America)

Challenge

The dramatic increase in health care costs is driven primarily by the increased number of employees with chronic diseases. Across the age span, the percentage of Americans with chronic disease has sharply increased. For instance, in the age group of 45 to 64 years, the percentage of Americans with 3 or more chronic diseases, such as overweight, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease, has increased since 1995 from 12% to 27%. These chronic diseases are now occurring at an earlier age, and some 70% are related to our lifestyle.

Medical care systems delivering their services in a one-on-one context often can, at best, slow down these diseases or manage their symptoms relying on procedures and pills. In the process, managing these chronic diseases today represent 75% of the total health care costs.

Solution

The CHIP wellness program, however, empowers employees in a group setting to become educated, motivated and inspired to make better lifestyle choices. This lifestyle medicine approach then is designed to provide early identification of employees who have, or who are likely to have, chronic diseases and to help them modify and remove the causes of these lifestyle-related diseases. By intervening early and preventing and reversing disease progression, employees can be healthier, happier and more productive, and their job security can be enhanced by reducing medical costs and by improving bottom lines.  

Enhance employee, spouse, and retiree health, while reducing health care costs through the CHIP video program with an in-house trained facilitator delivering the 32-hour program. Clinical results have been published in nearly 20 peer-reviewed medical journals. The New York Academy of Medicine in its September 2009 publication estimates that wellness programs like CHIP (which was listed as one of three examples from 84 published programs) could generate a Return On Investment of $5.60. These corporate wellness programs have a proven record for lowering health care costs, improving employee morale and performance, reducing time off work, and differentiating your company from competitors.

CHIP is an educational lifestyle intervention program with more than 50,000 graduates. Endorsed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the CHIP program focuses on developing a greater measure of intelligent self-care involving a clearer understanding of how our lifestyle relates to our common killer diseases.

Based on the findings of the US Surgeon General that some 70% of our Western diseases are largely "lifestyle-related," the CHIP program aims at the prevention and reversal of these diseases by substantially reducing recognized risk factors. Its focus is on markedly lowering the level of blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar, by reducing excess weight, lowering high blood pressure, enhancing daily exercise, eliminating smoking, lifting depression and reducing medication requirements.

Bringing CHIP to your workplace

The two-day CHIP training and certification program is a turn-key solution that perpetuates itself within your workplace culture and environment in that it prepares and qualifies members of your company to conduct CHIP wellness programs.

Interested in starting a CHIP program through your corporation or becoming a Director?

Determine the core coalition leaders in your workplace and schedule these leaders to attend the two-day CHIP Facilitator Training Workshop.

When they return, your certified CHIP facilitators will begin executing the first in-house CHIP program, supported by a full promotional marketing kit and through all aspects of implementation and participation.

"If implemented on a national scale, the CHIP program could improve the health status of people in North America more than all the efforts of modern technological medicine combined."

 —Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD

Cleveland Clinic, Preventive Cardiology Consultant, Cleveland, OH

CHIP Impact/Results Articles

National magazine highlights CHIP ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE – PDF file WELCOA (Wellness Council of America)

"Impact of the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP) on Several Employee Populations" – Steven G. Aldana, PhD et al (Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine 2002; 44:831-839) (NOTE: the Coronary Health Improvement Project is now known as the Complete Health Improvement Program.)

Endorsements & Testimonials

· Medical/scientific endorsements

· Other endorsements (text/video)

Resources

The following links provide additional information and products that support the CHIP lifestyle. CHIP is not responsible for the content on these sites.

Dr. Neal Barnard President of PCRM

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Bob's Red Mill Whole grain foods for every meal of the day CHIP: The Bob's Red Mill Story