Curing the Nation’s Health-care Crisis
Atlanta Company Offers Solution in Age of Health-care Reform
click here to download this in pdf
ATLANTA (April 16, 2009) — Curing the nation’s highly debated and criticized health-care system is on the minds of more and more Americans today. A top concern: skyrocketing health-care costs. Findings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that health-care spending reached 2.4 trillion in 2008, and is projected to jump 5.5 percent in 2009.
U.S. President Barack Obama has declared “Health-care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.” A series of White House Forums on Health Reform is slated for the coming months.
One solution Atlanta-based Quick Fitness Solutions (QFS) recommends for controlling healthcare costs has gained in popularity in recent years. Workplace wellness or worksite wellness programs encourage employees to take steps to adopt a healthy lifestyle, to prevent the onset or worsening of a health condition and to rid their lives of unhealthy behaviors and habits.
Since 2005, QFS has specialized in bringing fitness to the corporate setting. “A number of companies have reaped anywhere from $3 to $5 in savings, and more, through lowered healthcare costs for every $1 they’ve invested in a well-designed workplace wellness program,” says Akil Sherman, president of QFS.Designed to take place on the job — where Americans spend more time than anywhere else — workplace wellness programs have proved a win-win for employer and employee alike. Employers witness a return on investment (ROI) through increased worker productivity and reduced absenteeism and turnover, among other benefits. Employees enjoy healthier lifestyles, greater job satisfaction and a boost to morale.
The scope of QFS’ on-site services — tax-deductible to businesses — includes small-group personal training, chiropractic care, massage therapy, nutritional counseling and chef services, available as one complete package, by combining two or more services, or a la carte. Featuring weigh-ins, body fat assessments and monthly giveaways, among other offerings, small-group personal training also provides a buddy system of sorts. Trainers make follow-up calls to check on and encourage participants. A highlight of nutritional counseling is the lunch-and-learn session, in which participants may sample healthy snacks, while QFS’ chef services also feature organic and healthy choices. Under chiropractic care and massage therapy, participants may receive lower back and other adjustments, and a wide range of massage styles, including Swedish and deep-tissue, respectively. QFS also offers Fit Break, a one-and-a-half-hour session focused on encouraging participants to develop healthier habits through low-impact exercise. “Workplace wellness programs just may be the cure our nation needs,” says Marc Comar, CEO of QFS. “As Americans become busier and spend more time at work, it makes sense to bring a quality wellness program to the workplace.”
QFS clients include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Intercontinental Hotels Group, the Atlanta Hawks dance team and the Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders.