North Bay Business Journal

With the Supreme Court ruling Thursday to uphold major tenets of the Affordable Care Act, some clarity is finally emerging for employers and providers, but the political battle over health care reform will likely continue.

Local health care providers and insurance experts said there is now much-needed clarity, at least for now, as employers and municipalities across the state attempt to adapt to ever-evolving regulations. Several providers praised the ruling.

Do you agree with the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010? Share your thoughts.

Public health officials across the country have recently stepped up efforts to address obesity, perhaps the nation’s biggest health issue at the moment given the obvious health risks and the sheer costs associated with treating the condition. In a coordinated effort across the public and private sectors, the Business Journal is teaming up with health maintenance organization Kaiser Permenante for a June 27 public screening of and discussion on “The Weight of the Nation,” a four-hour documentary that highlights the pervasiveness of the condition.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital will host a symposium for employers next week as part of the iWORKwell Workforce Wellness effort, a public-private program focused on employee health throughout Sonoma County.

The symposium targets employers looking to reduce ever-increasing health care expenses and to support their workforce’s well-being by offering more wellness programs.

SANTA ROSA — Amy’s Kitchen has taken a unique step among Sonoma County employers in opening a primary care clinic at its southwest Santa Rosa production facility, a move the maker of natural convenience foods said will help reduce health care costs and increase convenience and health for employees and their families.

The “most wonderful time of the year” can also be one of the most stressful times of the year for U.S. workers. Year-end deadlines combined with holiday obligations – both work and personal commitments – can add up to increased stress levels for employees, resulting in absenteeism, lost productivity and other physical and emotional issues.

In order for wellness to be more than just a buzzword, employers need to take careful steps to adequately define what wellness means while promoting the concept as a partnership with employees that will engender an overall healthy environment. Employers should also expect to make a significant investment of both time and resources if they are to be successful. That was the prevailing message from a panel assembled for the North Bay Business Journal’s Health Care Conference, which discussed corporate wellness as a strategy in increasing employee productivity, reducing absenteeism and curbing ever-incresing health care costs, among other benefits.

Welcome to the Business Journal’s profiles of 14 winners of the inaugural Healthiest Company Recognition Awards. Profiles of the organization’s programs start here and appear in alphabetical order by company. The companies will be honored at the Journal’s annual Health Care Conference Nov. 30, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek.

Winner profiles inside: Agilent Technologies, Santa Rosa; Bank of Marin, Novato; Edgewood Partners Insurance Center (EPIC), Petaluma; GCX, Petaluma; JDSU, Santa Rosa; Kaiser Permanente Marin–Sonoma; LEMO USA, Rohnert Park; Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Napa; Redwood Regional Medical Group, Santa Rosa; Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park Oral Surgery; St. Joseph Health System–Sonoma County; TLCD Architecture, Santa Rosa; Trinchero Family Estates, Napa; and W. Bradley Electric, Novato.

SANTA ROSA – Agilent Technologies’ Electronic Measurement Group headquarters on Fountaingrove Parkway is a global showcase for employee well-being. During the last few years the company has poured $50 million into plant upgrades with workers’ health a primary focus.

NOVATO – The average tenure of employees at W. Bradley Electric Inc., (WBE) is 8.5 years. The company goes to great lengths to show its appreciation for their loyalty and hard work by providing a variety of creative wellness opportunities enabling them to grow physically, mentally and personally.

ST. HELENA – Trinchero Family Estates is on the leading edge among North Bay wineries when it comes to developing and implementing successful wellness strategies. The company’s health focus has been part of its culture since 2003 when they partnered with Weight Watchers for an on-site program. The program continued to expand and Tony Torres, [...]

 SANTA ROSA – At TLCD Architecture, company leaders encourage employees to embrace social responsibility with genuine care for people, community and sustainable principles. This commitment is reflected in a work environment that supports healthy choices in food, exercise, flexible hours and a sense of wellness — principles that carry over into a variety of practical [...]

The leadership at Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park Oral Surgery initially began its wellness plan with an often-cited goal by employers: to reduce employee absenteeism. But an even better outcome emerged, they said — productivity among its 20 employees increased significantly.

Bank Marin: “By investing in meaningful health benefits and wellness programs the bank is simply saying that it cares about its people.”

ROHNERT PARK – LEMO USA, Inc. goes beyond offering its workers programs designed to improve their health, it also tracks their results and provides vital feedback necessary to reinforce continued participation.

Having opened its 59,000-square-foot Wellness Center back in 2006, long before wellness became seamlessly interwoven in the corporate business lexicon, it’s perhaps not surprising that Queen of the Valley in Napa extended the concept to its workforce.

Kaiser Permanente, the largest private sector employer in Marin and Sonoma counties with over 4,200 employees between the two, has a simple, straight forward to campaign to its patients: Thrive. Its wellness effort toward employees is similarly simple — Live Well Be Well — and it has a 75 percent participation rate among its vast number of employees and physicians.

SANTA ROSA – Offering ways to enable success-driven employees achieve their personal best is what JDSU is about. Supporting health programs is one approach to making the employer-employee relationship a win-win situation.

PETALUMA – When the president of the company is also a football coach at Marin Catholic High School, you can be sure that he encourages employees to tone up and stay active both on and off the job. Several GCX managers attended Terra Linda High School at the same time, played in basketball leagues and participated in 10K runs, so there is a legacy of athleticism in a firm that now places strong emphasis on weight loss and fitness.

St. Joseph Health System, the second largest private employer in Sonoma County with over 2,400 employees, offers wellness options for employees through its Choose Well program, which has a 40 percent employee participation rate — meaning more than 900 employees are embracing the wellness concept.

The San Mateo-based brokerage opened the Petaluma branch last July. With 265 employees across the company — and about 20 in the North Bay — the company boasts an 80 percent participation rate in its two-year old employee wellness program.