Virginia is the greatest place to live and work  The LPGA isn’t the only big event happening at the Kingsmill Restort in Williamsburg, Virginia today.  Governor Bob McDonnell spoke at Optima Health’s 6th Annual Customer Forum held annually for benefits managers from large employers across the state. The focus of the Governor’s speech was on the health and economic status of the state. He highlighted the upc ...

After five years of helping Sentara Healthcare employees get healthier, Optima Health is still saving money for our parent company -- $4 million to be exact. For every dollar invested in the “Mission: Health” program, Sentara has saved $2.70. Healthcare costs were expected to reach $23 million in 2011; instead they were $21 million.  “Regardless of the impending changes in healthcare, the reality is that we ...

(Fourth and final in a series. Offering employee incentives is one of the most important components in creating a successful employee wellness program in your company. Sentara Healthcare’s wellness plan, while partnering with Optima Health, is an incentive-based plan that both improves employee health and saves money for the company.) While many companies have had wellness pro­grams in place for years, ofte ...

(First in a series) Every employer who begins a workplace wellness program wants to help employees with their health and reduce healthcare costs. Most plans include some combination of exercise, nutrition, stress management and smoking cessation. So what makes a wellness plan successful? There are a number of things that set apart a winning program. A few of those include incorporating personal health profi ...

As an organization, Optima Health and Sentara Healthcare do workplace wellness right. Across the country, companies of all sizes are implementing workplace wellness programs. They’re doing so because they save money for both employers and employees and they improve employee health. Sherrie Harris works as a patient advocate at Sentara Obici Hospital and she takes her health seriously. She hasn’t always, but ...