COR Wellness: Employers gain strong competitive advantage with ‘no-bull,’ data-driven employee wellness

Contact: Steve Jagler | stevej@stevejagler.com | (414) 405-8398

SUSSEX, Wis.—Facing rising health care insurance premiums, a tight labor market
and COVID-related inflationary pressures in 2022, corporate finance and human
resources will once again try to determine how to reduce health care costs and
compete for the best talent.

Budget conversations inevitably turn to employee wellness. The problem: most
employee wellness programs don’t deliver measurable results.

So why would a wellness company draw attention to what seemingly questions its
very existence? Because COR Wellness delivers a return on investment built on
validated metrics!

“We’ve seen employee engagement go way up,” says John Thornton, CEO of GS
Global Resources Mukwonago, a COR Wellness client since 2017. “Many people
participate in programs that we thought never would. The overall health and
wellbeing of the organization is improving every day.”

COR helped 25 GS Global employees lose a total of 162 pounds, or 6.5 lbs. per
person, during weight loss challenge early this year. Beyond weight, this year GS
Global employee have improved blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose –
reducing risks associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and
metabolic syndrome.

GS Global also gains value from the COR Wellness program in areas outside of improved health, including worker safety, absenteeism, recruiting and retention. GS Global was named a 2020 Top Workplace in Southeast Wisconsin by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The challenge has always been finding proven methods to unlock the millions of
dollars in opportunity identified by employee wellness programs.

“The results have been incredible,” says Tom Nicholson, GS Global Resources
operations and finance vice president. “COR Wellness gives us a competitive
advantage recruiting and retaining talent. We value company culture. When we
brag to a candidate that we offer on-site and virtual wellness coaches, it’s a game-
changer. It helps attract the best.”

COR Wellness CEO Jerry Curtin has spent his career understanding the essence of
employee performance at GE, Eaton, Standard Process, and now COR Wellness.

“When participants volunteer, get results, and in some cases, contribute to covering the cost of the program,” Curtin says, “the value is visible and validated.”

COR Wellness focuses on physical pain and chronic disease to improving mood,
motivation and energy. By capturing metrics that matter, COR Wellness demonstrates collective individual improvement across employee populations. COR Wellness specifically addresses and measures the following modifiable health care targets that account for more than 20 percent of employer/employee total health care spend:

  1. Depression – COR programs lower the risk for depression through promotion of
    physical, nutrition and cognitive activities and behaviors proven to have positive
    impacts on mood and lower individual risk for depression.
  2. Blood glucose – COR helps lower the risk for diabetes by supporting healthy
    physical and nutrition behavior changes that improve insulin sensitivity and
    promote healthy blood glucose levels.
  3. Blood pressure – COR’s integrated programming identifies and addresses the
    physical, nutritional and cognitive stress inputs that factor into hypertension.
  4. Body weight – COR’s integrated programming addresses the physical, nutritional,
    and cognitive stress inputs that factor into weight management.
  5. Tobacco use – COR offers an effective tobacco cessation program.
  6. Physical inactivity – Individual and group activities, events, education and
    challenges increase physical activity safely and appropriately for each person.
  7. Stress – COR’s integrated programming addresses and mitigates the physical,
    nutritional and cognitive inputs to lower negative impacts related to stress.
  8. Cholesterol – COR addresses physical and nutritional factors to help improve the
    ratio between LDL and HDL cholesterol and lower cardiovascular disease risk.
  9. Nutrition and eating habits – COR’s nutrition philosophy prioritizes getting more
    of the “good stuff,” which naturally helps limit the intake of the “bad stuff.”
  10. Alcohol consumption – COR programming encourages low (or no) alcohol
    consumption levels, as well as equipping COR coaches to identify and address
    high-risk behaviors related to alcohol and other substance abuse issues.