Intermountain’s LiVe Well Program Highlighted as a National Model

A case study featuring Intermountain Healthcare's caregiver wellness efforts has been featured as a national model of how to help employees live healthy lives by the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a national collaboration of employers working to promote health and wellness in the workplace.

The case study about the physical health portions of the LiVe Well program, titled "How to Create a Culture of Movement at Work," is one of just a few programs showcased on HERO's website.

Intermountain has been a member of the HERO Think Tank since 2003. HERO leaders recently invited Tim Butler, a wellness consultant for SelectHealth, and Terri Flint, Intermountain's director of caregiver wellness, to submit a case study explaining what Intermountain is doing to help its caregivers be more physically active so other organizations can learn from that.

Here are a few of the actions Intermountain has taken to encourage physical activity at work, which were highlighted in the case study:

• Offering programs and contests to encourage physical activity, such as online learning modules and the 10,000 Steps program. 
• Offering onsite gyms at many locations, as well as caregiver discounts to community gyms. 
• Intermountain offers discount fitness and nutrition classes at many locations.
• Intermountain has developed posters and videos to show caregivers safe ways to move while at their desks or work stations.
• Implemented healthy meeting guidelines to incorporate opportunities for movement into meetings. 
• Charted safe walking paths around most facilities so caregivers can get out and walk during breaks. 
• Made stairwells more inviting by adding fun colors and inspirational quotes to encourage caregivers to take the stairs instead of elevators.
• Increased bike storage capacity at many facilities and worked to make more showers available so caregivers can bike to work.

"I think our program is somewhat unique in the country because it's so holistic," Flint says. "Instead of just focusing on physical health, we've tried to focus on our caregivers' entire well-being. We've also really focused on meeting people where they're at and helping people change when they're ready. It's nice that others around the nation are starting to take notice of what we're doing and looking to learn from us."

"I'm proud of the ways our LiVe Well efforts have changed the environment for health for our caregivers," says Mikelle Moore, Intermountain’s senior VP of community health. "We understand our caregivers make many of their health choices while at work or in the context of their work/life balance. HERO has helped us consider how best to support the health of our caregivers and it's an honor to be influencing others by sharing our journey."

Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based not-for-profit system of 22 hospitals, 180 clinics, a Medical Group with about 1,500 employed physicians and advanced practitioners, a health plans group called SelectHealth, and other medical services. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare through high quality and sustainable costs.