Educators Health Alliance Launches New Wellness Program

Educators Health Alliance Launches New Wellness Program

The Educators Health Alliance (EHA) has announced a new wellness initiative aimed at assisting its members achieve higher levels of wellness.
EHA Board Chair Dr. Dan Ernst stated, “The EHA is pleased to offer a comprehensive wellness program to our members and looks forward to the benefits the program is designed to realize in individual members’ health and wellbeing. Nearly all of Nebraska’s public schools participate in the EHA and the wellness program seeks to achieve improved health for school employees, plus the financial benefits of reduced health care costs and lower absenteeism for school districts.“ The EHA is managed by a collaborative effort of the Nebraska Association of School Boards, the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and the Nebraska State Education Association.

The EHA Board of Directors has selected Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) and the Wellness Council of the Midlands (WELCOM) to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive wellness program for all the approximately 35,000 employees of EHA participating employers throughout Nebraska. The program is an expansion of a successful EHA pilot wellness program initiated a year ago and managed by BCBSNE and WELCOM.

The expanded wellness program will begin in early 2011 and provide members opportunities to improve and manage their health. EHA will offer the program to its members at no charge. The first phase of the program consists of developing a supportive work environment and creating regional wellness teams, which will help in the delivery of wellness programs and services.

Participants in the program will complete a personal health assessment (PHA) to provide feedback to each individual and determine the health risks, interests, and knowledge levels of the population. Following this confidential process, BCBSNE and WELCOM will work with each wellness team to analyze the health risk data and implement a targeted wellness action plan that will focus on maintaining or improving members’ current level of health and reducing lifestyle-related risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor diet, and obesity.

The program will undergo a rigorous evaluation to measure its overall effectiveness in improving members’ health status and lowering their health care costs

For more information, please contact your EHA/BCBSNE Regional Representative.

Sue Warner: 402-982-6836
Tara Stevenson: 402-982-8859