Be Inspired

A national leading utilities company based in the Northeast partnered with HealthFitness in 2021 to deliver injury prevention and treatment (IPT) services—with a focus on early intervention, also including ergonomics, shift stretch and work conditioning—to its 8,000 employees.

HealthFitness also was selected to provide flu shot services for the company's employee population across 10 locations. Because the company had wellness and a total worker health program in place, the team enhanced the program by bringing in safety solutions to help reduce the risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries. The team knew that integration within safety and worker’s compensation—while building trust and rapport with frontline supervisors and workers—would help foster a community of health and safety to their dispersed population across four states.

Challenge
The five-person HealthFitness team serves as an extension of the company’s safety program, handling tasks to relieve the burden on internal resources. However, the biggest challenge is earning the trust of the workers, since they can be hesitant to ask for help.

Gaining support from the upper-level management down to frontline supervisors is critical to success in order to build trust and expand the reach of the program to the employees, especially the dispersed population of field workers.

Solution
To earn the employee’s trust, the HealthFitness IPT team joins workers in the field, even wearing the equipment and working in the elements with them. The team also integrated with the safety program with the company’s lineman school to get to know the workers as they are training.

As a result, when the workers go into the field they serve as safety champions, encouraging their coworkers to look to the IPT team as a helpful resource and a first line of defense for MSK injuries.

Results
The IPT program is thriving, with a 95% success rate—resulting in a potential cost avoidance of $978,680 during the first year. Due to the significant value of the program, the IPT team has grown from three to five employees and now covers four states.

In a recent survey, 95% of respondents said they were able to perform their job better after interacting with the HealthFitness team.