Wellness Inspiration, High ROI

There's a great inspiring story on CNN's website about a wellness program at Lincoln Industries in Lincoln, Neb, a 565-employee metalworking company. Interesting facts:

• It's been around for 16 years
• It has three full-time staff dedicated to the program
• All employess have biometrics taken every year
  

But listen to what the article says about the program's financial return:

For the company, the payoff is significantly lower health-care costs. The company pays less than $4,000 per employee, about half the regional average and a savings of more than $2 million. That makes the $400,000 Lincoln Industries spends each year on wellness a bargain.

"The return on investment is extraordinary," says Hank Orme, president of Lincoln Industries.

The investment in "wellness" pays other dividends, according to Orme. He says fitter workers are more productive, have better morale and are safer. As evidence, he points to worker's compensation claims. Ongoing safety training and an increasingly fit work force have pushed worker's comp costs down from $500,000 five years ago to less than $10,000 so far this year.

has http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/25/fn.healthy.company/index.html