Having worked for many years handling benefits for Johnson & Johnson, I can tell you that employee wellness and disease prevention is as important as to me as ensuring employees have access to different treatment options. For many years, we’ve been encouraging employees to develop healthy lifestyles, and one of the most pressing challenges we face is figuring out a way to address the impact that inactivity and obesity have on our workforce.

In that, of course, we aren’t alone. Did you know that about two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese in the US and the direct and indirect cost of obesity-associated conditions in the United States is estimated at nearly $80 billion a year? People who are overweight or obese are at a greater risk for developing diabetes, stroke, hypertension, high cholesterol and certain types of cancers – and for an employer, that can mean greater absenteeism and higher healthcare costs compared to non-obese employees.

But employers can help make a difference.

We’ve found that employees who are inactive, overweight or obese, benefit greatly from company sponsored programs that focus on healthy living, eating, and exercise. In 1978, Johnson & Johnson launched “Live for Life,” a program tailored to address individual employee health needs. Since then, we’ve developed, launched and measured a number of successful wellness and prevention programs and as a result, our employees are motivated and encouraged to improve their health and reduce related health care issues. As National Employee Health & Fitness Day approaches, we invite you to check out the following video about one Johnson & Johnson employee – Jessica Empestan – who benefited from these programs:

I started donating blood about 15 years ago. I was recruited by a member of the New Jersey Blood Services. The New Jersey Blood Services has been fulfilling its commitment to the people of New Jersey by supplying blood products and services with quality and compassion. They serve approximately 60 New Jersey hospitals and conduct blood drives on a daily basis in 14 New Jersey counties. I have always been mindful of what a blessed life my family and I lead, and felt that this was my way of helping others; doing my part to make a difference. 

Your chances of knowing someone who will need a donation is huge. A few years ago my good friend Elisabeth got the great news from her son on becoming a grandparent for the first time of twins. Unfortunately, the twins were born prematurely and barely weighing 2 pounds. They faced many medical obstacles and were in need of blood donations. I immediately volunteered to donate and am happy to report that 7 years later they are thriving. I feel a special connection to those two beautiful children and am grateful that I could help out. There is no better feeling and sense of self when helping others.

Some statistics from the Mayo Clinic indicate:

• That only 5 percent of eligible donors donate blood.
• Whole blood donors can donate every 56 days.
• 25 percent or more of us will need blood at least once in our lifetime.
• Each whole blood donation can help as many as three people.

Imagine that — helping three people with one pint of your blood. Be it a child, teen or adult someone may live another day with your simple act of donating blood.

The procedure to donate is an easy one — to start you fill out a form which includes your name, age, address and personal pertinent information. The next step a nurse takes your vital signs, temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and pricks your finger to check your iron level. If everything checks out you are then ready to donate. A phlebotomist administers the needle and in less than 30 minutes you donate a pint of blood. It’s as easy as 1…2…3.

Here are some ways that your blood donation would be used. The donation is separated into 3 components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Red blood cells are primarily used for cancer patients, hip replacements, liver transplants, anemic patients, ulcer patients and trauma victims. Platelets are used for cancer and leukemia patients. Plasma is mainly used for burn victims.

Like a lot of people I work with here, I feel we have a responsibility to the world community. I try to carry out many of those beliefs thorough volunteerism and blood donation. I am also a member of the Blood Committee at Johnson & Johnson. I am in charge of scheduling the volunteers to help at all our corporate drives, send reminder emails to donors before the drives and to help plan our annual Blood Donor Reception. The role of the volunteer is an important one –they welcome donors and help make their donation go as smoothly as possible.  At Johnson & Johnson we hold 5 drives a year at each of our three campuses. The blood committee meets after every drive and one of our functions is to brainstorm ways to increase donations throughout the year. We try to encourage our fellow employees, family, friends and members of the community to donate blood. 

In my mind, blood donation it is the easiest thing to do and the most rewarding – by donating blood you can save a life. I encourage everyone to roll up their sleeves and take part in donating blood.

Each year, we honor the work of passionate and creative scientists who have made an impact on human health through the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. Dr. Paul Janssen, better known as Dr. Paul, founded Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V. in 1953 (Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V. joined the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in 1961). Dr. Paul was a gifted and dedicated physician and scientist who helped save millions of lives through his contribution to the discovery and development of more than 80 medicines.

This year’s award winner, Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, certainly embodies the spirit of Dr. Paul. The work of Dr. Ullrich has helped to significantly improve the lives of those with chronic diseases, including diabetes and cancer. His discoveries have led to novel cancer therapies and genetically engineered human insulin, among others.

I had the opportunity to attend the award announcement in London during the 6^th annual World Conference of Science Journalists, of which Johnson & Johnson is a sponsor. This was the perfect venue to celebrate the achievements of Dr. Ullrich and the legacy of Dr. Paul. The conference brought together journalists, scientists, and communication professionals to discuss more effective ways of communicating the latest scientific advances, debates, and key issues. Dr. Ullrich was not only an award recipient but also a speaker at the conference, where he provided journalists with his perspective on how scientists and the media can better work together to improve the reporting of cancer breakthroughs.

I think Dr. Paul would be pleased to see scientists, journalists, and others in the health care industry working together to advance science with the common goal of improving the lives of patients.

Johnson & Johnson also hosts a blog (http://www.jnjbtw.com) that is largely self-congratulatory about what the company is doing (see “Giving Back Image of the Week”). But it recently had a couple of interesting tidbits, including a J&J expert on the value of corporate wellness programs and a series of tips on keeping kids safe from injury.

I’m glad the writer found the tips from Dr. Isaac and from Safe Kids to be of interest, but I was disappointed to hear that she found the blog – and in particular the Giving Back Image of the Week – to be “self-congratulatory.”

Through JNJBTW I had hoped to provide some of those folks in the corporation who are usually silent an opportunity to be heard and to engage with others online. I’ve encouraged people to use it to tell their stories, share their perspectives on different topics that are of importance to them and try to connect with others online. I don’t think the folks posting on the blog meant to give themselves a “pat on the back,” but were instead posting to share their experiences with others.

The same holds true for the Giving Back Image of the Week. When Shaun Mickus and I discussed his interest in posting the photos, I know he felt it was more about highlighting the efforts of the charitable organizations we happen to partner with than talking about our company’s support. I think our hope was that we would encourage others to learn more about the activities of these organizations.

Clearly there is room for more “interesting tidbits” and other useful information on corporate blogs like JNJBTW, but I also think there is space for people at companies to blog about what they are doing and who they are working with.

I’ve invited Mommy Vlogers to submit videos on topics relevant to them, and which might be helpful to a larger audience.

So far, I’ve received videos on safety tips for toddlers, how to make homemade baby food, and teaching your kids to be ecologically friendly. They don’t have to be perfect — most have been made on a flip cam — and I do post most of the videos sent to me, as long as they don’t reference specific products. To compensate the vlogers I pay $100 for each video used.

One of my favorites was done by Colleen Padilla (Classy Mommy) on tips about how to keep from going stir crazy with your kids when stuck inside during bad weather.

I’m always looking for more content, so if you are interested, just let me know by clicking “send message” on the Johnson & Johnson health channel.

If you read a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch television, you’ve heard the word “sustainability”. It’s a business buzzword now, on the order of “total quality,” “just in time,” “six sigma” and “ISO.”

Yet while companies are starting to talk more about what they are doing to reduce their impact on the environment and be more active in their communities, you may be asking yourself – “what does this all mean for me?”

Well, many companies (Johnson & Johnson included) are starting to come up with an answer to this question. At my company, we’ve put together something called a “personal sustainability program,” or PSP to help employees understand what sustainability means – and how they can apply it to their lives. The concept was pioneered by Wal-Mart in partnership with Act Now .

Wal-Mart’s program, focused on environmental and health issues, involved training PSP leaders, who returned to their stores, trained other interested employees, and then lead PSP efforts at their stores. Each PSP participant pledged to change an environmental or health aspect of their personal life, and when that change was made, they were recognized.

Wal-Mart believes that this program has had many benefits – and they cite carbon dioxide reductions and improved health for their employees. One dividend, however, that is rather difficult to measure is that through this program they have unlocked employee creativity – to develop solutions that were then applied to the business. In a famous example, a PSP participant turned off lighting in soft drink machines in the employee lounge, saving over a million dollars in electricity use each year.

At Johnson & Johnson, I’m responsible for a PSP program that we call “Cause an Effect” – which includes tools that educate employees on four component parts of personal sustainability (environment, community, well-being and economy) and on ways in which they can improve their own environmental impact , health and connection to their communities– for instance, by doing eating locally grown food you are supporting your local farmer, reducing your environmental footprint and improving your health. The program is entirely voluntary, but those who decide to participate can make pledges to make changes and be recognized for their efforts.

So, you might be asking, what is my PSP? Like many of you, I’m struggling with my fitness, so I’m pledging to do Pilates three times each week for at least three months. I think it will help with weight loss, physical health and mental health, and I’m hoping it will help me to be a bit more graceful.

From Dr. Isaac:

Like most full time employees, I spend more than a third of my waking day at work. When you consider that, it’s easy to see the importance of workplace wellness and the responsibility employers have to help employees lead healthier and more productive lives. This is something Johnson & Johnson has worked to achieve over the last 30 years by fostering what we call “a culture of health” for employees. As a physician and as public health officer, I can’t tell you how rewarding a journey this has been for me.

Now there are different thoughts on how best to do this, but we believe the most effective way to do this is to deliver a comprehensive and integrated package of health and wellness solutions addressing the “whole person” and what I mean by this, is to ensure that our programs cover our people’s needs from mental wellbeing, to health and safety in the workplace, to preventive health screening, health education & awareness and most importantly helping our people to know their health status, offer them programs to improve, and provide avenues for them to be active at work, home and at play. Given the role that robust employee health and wellness programs can have in lowering overall healthcare costs, I thought I would share a quick overview of what’s done at Johnson & Johnson:

Our program includes an online health risk assessment, lifestyle and disease management counseling, services to promote mental well-being, health risk intervention programs to reduce the likelihood of disease; environmental changes in the workplace (well lit hallways, safe stairwells that are inviting for those who want to take the stairs instead of the elevator, healthy food options in the cafeteria); and financial incentives for participation. Employees also have access to onsite fitness centers (which provide a great way to recharge in the middle of the work day) or they can receive discounts to attend local facilities.

What do you get from doing all of this? The results, based on health profile responses, are encouraging. I’ll give you a couple examples (Keep in mind that these figures compare our 2007 results with the national goal for 2010.):

•Our rate of smoking was reduced to 4 percent of our employee population, against a national goal of 12 percent.
•Our rate of high blood pressure was reduced to 6 percent of our employee population, versus a national target of 16 percent.
•Our rate of high cholesterol was reduced to 7 percent of our employee population, against a national goal of 17 percent.

Our biggest challenge is in the area of physical activity. Just over 36 percent of employees report they are not sufficiently active, compared to the national target of 20 percent. This is an area that we continue to work on – if you walk through any Johnson & Johnson facility, you’ll see many employees wearing pedometers, and we organize many team competitions to encourage more physical activity. There is also an online program that employees can sign up for called “Move.” It’s a personalized program by HealthMedia, a recently acquired Johnson & Johnson company that delivers customized, web-based programs focused on wellness & prevention, disease management, behavioral health, and medication adherence. You can read about one of our employee success stories on our corporate website.

Behavioral health is also important to support and efforts in this area have had a measurable impact on absenteeism and mental health. Today, our Employee Assistance program, which we launched in 1978, serves the needs of 90,000 Johnson & Johnson employees and family members in 34 countries.

I’ve been involved with these programs for almost 20 years, and I can tell you that it has most rewarding for me personally to see the significant positive health impact for our employees as well as the value to the business. In fact, our programs resulted in time-adjusted savings of $400 per employee per year, and improved health status was achieved in eight high risk areas, including cholesterol, blood pressure, and tobacco use.

The bottom line is that our health and wellness programs are considered an investment in the health of both employees AND the corporation. To truly create a culture of health that will drive long-term sustainable results, employers must deliver a comprehensive set of programs that focus on both the individual and organization.

Recently, on a warm, sunny, Sunday, I spent a fun time in a tunnel.

Not to mention I was under the Hudson River.

To explain: On April 26, the 23rd Annual Lincoln Tunnel Challenge took place. This is a very unique 3.1-mile charity run/walk through the Lincoln Tunnel, from the Jersey side, to the New York side and back. What makes it really unique is that this is the only time pedestrians can run (or walk) through the Lincoln Tunnel.

Presented by AmeriHealth of New Jersey, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, the Lincoln Tunnel Administration, and Coach USA, this annual event benefits Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ). I was there doing some volunteer work for the SONJ. However, I was also happy to find out that a contingent of Johnson & Johnson employees also was there to do the charity run.

This part was all the doing of Michael Rosenmertz, who works in Information Technology for Ethicon, one of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Michael has been organizing participation in this event for about three years now and his team, Team Papa, had 81 participants, young and old alike, and the second-largest team in the field. Of that squad, 12 work for Ethicon and one works for Johnson & Johnson in its corporate offices.

Rosenmertz told me that Team Papa started after he and his ten year-old nephew ran in the event for the first time three years ago as the only members of Team Papa. Apparently, his father was a long-time volunteer for SONJ and since he was battling cancer at the time, he couldn’t volunteer as he normally would. They decided to run the event in his honor and called the team ‘Team Papa’ because his grandkids called him Papa.

In addition to the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge and other volunteer events that Michael helps coordinate, perhaps the most unique is the team of 20 Johnson & Johnson Information Technology employees that participate in the annual Plane Pull. In this event, teams pull a Boeing 737 weighing over 93,000 lbs. on the Continental Airlines tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport. When I met up with Michael and the team after the race, with temperature pushing 90, they still had so much energy, it looked like they were ready to go do the run again. I also was impressed to see so many of my colleagues get up WAY early on a Sunday morning – check-in time was 6:45 AM – to do this charity event.

And from my perspective, it was pretty cool to be able to hang out under the Hudson River in the Lincoln Tunnel. Except not stuck in traffic this time.

One of the things I enjoy most about my job at Johnson & Johnson is working on programs that make a difference in people’s lives. An initiative that is particularly close to my heart is Safe Kids Worldwide. Over 20 years ago, Johnson & Johnson became the founding sponsor of Safe Kids WW, whose mission is to educate adults and children about how to prevent unintentional injury and death. As a mother of two children, keeping our kids safe has a special meaning for me.

This year, Safe Kids USA has just released the first-ever safety report that makes the connection between the different stages of a child’s development as it relates to unintentional injury. For years, Safe kids has been telling parents how to keep their children safe, but this year’s report highlights exactly when and why those precautions are essential. This report also offers safety tips in five leading injury risk areas: falls, recreational safety, burns and scalds, motor vehicle safety and poisoning.

For a copy of the report, or to view the safety tips according to a child’s age, check out the Safe Kids site.

I hope that you’ll take a moment to review this important information that could help save your own children or grandchildren from harm. We’ll keep you updated with important tips and hints throughout the year.

Have a safe summer!

Nearly two years ago, access2wellness.com was launched to provide uninsured and underinsured individuals with a resource to more easily access prescription medications. Since that time, over two million people received information about access2wellness and many have utilized the service to secure free or discounted medications. With the current economic downturn and unemployment reaching new heights, a growing number of people are trying to save money in any way by forgoing or reducing medications. While this behavior can save short-term, out-of-pocket expenses, controllable health issues could escalate into excessive medical costs and undesired outcomes.

According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, a one percent rise in unemployment raises the current 45 million uninsured population by 1.1 million. From 2001 – 2007, those who could not afford prescriptions grew from 10% to 14% and almost two-thirds of uninsured, working age adults with at least one chronic condition could not access their medications. “I’ve seen patients today who have stopped taking their cholesterol-lowering medicine, because they can’t afford it” said Dr. James King, Chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians, in a recent New York Times publication. Layoffs, shrinking bank accounts, rising medical prices and widespread anxiety that the economy is likely to worsen are prompting people to split pills, forgo screening tests such as colonoscopies, delay elective procedures and turn to home remedies as cheaper alternatives. Hospitals report that as unpaid medical bills are on the rise, pharmacists see a spike in cheaper generics and demand for low-cost care is climbing.

According to a HIPPOCRATech post about the access2wellness service: “The hardest thing for anyone to admit is that they’re not being compliant with medications because of a cost issue.” Not only are patients impacted, healthcare professionals and family members become frustrated when non-compliant patients fail to achieve their desired outcome.

So what can we do to help the growing uninsured population? Healthcare providers, family members and friends of loved ones can share information about assistance resources such as access2wellness, TogetherRxAccess, Partnership for Prescription Assistance or NeedyMeds, to help the uninsured gain access to prescription medications. Recent market research indicates that 63% of US adults are not familiar with the term prescription assistance or patient assistance programs. Many assistance programs are available online or by calling a toll-free telephone number. For qualified individuals, the programs are free to use and provide access to free or discounted prescription medications within a short time after applying.

(Marc’s note: Periodically Mike or others from the Access2Wellness program post to JNJBTW.)