While private clubs may be created by or their members, they are maintained and cultivated by the hard work of their employees. Just as the employees carefully support the health of their club—making sure the grass is properly seeded and trimmed, ensuring the food is fresh and delicious, and reinforcing the positive member experience—the club should also take care to support the health of its employees.
The private member-owned community of Ocean Reef Club, in Key Largo, Fla., has long honored a commitment to involvement in its community. This tradition is especially focused on the team of 800+ employees who support the club’s oceanfront inn, 175-slip marina, world-class spa and salon, championship golf courses, 13 culinary outlets, private airport and more. In order to show employees how much the club appreciates their dedicated service, Ocean Reef Club offers a multi-faceted benefits package to full-time team members, which includes the opportunity to participate in a variety of programs such as the popular Employee Wellness Program.
The Employee Wellness Program at Ocean Reef Club is a comprehensive offering of fitness courses and competitions, healthy cafeteria choices, wellness seminars and workshops, relaxation/stress management programs, medical support, and lifestyle counseling. With so many detailed and varied offerings for the club’s employees, program development was a lengthy process. Starting in 2008, the club began gradually implementing program elements, beginning with the formulation of employee fitness classes in 2008.
Developing a Fitness and Exercise Series
Created by the wellness manager working in con- junction with the fitness trainers, the fitness classes were designed to help club employees maintain a healthy lifestyle while they pursued their careers. While it was important that the class offerings be designed to cater to club member demands and use of the facilities, it was also necessary to ensure that the class offerings could be accessible to club employees. The club decided to offer additional classes for employees five times a week during the off-peak season of summer. During peak season, the club would offer slightly fewer employee classes—around three to four times a week—to ensure members had primary access to the fitness facility. Next, O’Keeffe and his team needed to evaluate the best times to offer classes that would allow the new program to be accessible to all employees. The solution was to offer scheduled classes in the early morning at 6:30 a.m., and right after work at 5:30 p.m. In order to offer fitness activities for employees who work evenings and weekends, the club also permitted use of kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and bicycle rentals without time restrictions during the off season.
Additionally, the recreation team was tasked with offering programs that employees of all ages and fitness levels could enjoy. As a result, the club currently offers the following activities:
- Yoga and Yogilates – combination of Yoga and Pilates
- Cardio Challenge – cardio training
- Step & Sculpt – combination strength training and cardio with steps
- 20/20/20 – An hour-long class split into 20 minutes each of cardio, weight training and abdominals
- Boot Camp – strength training drills and cardio exercises
As classes became more popular and more employees began to attend, the club responded by expanding the types of classes offered and introduced greater variety into the schedule. Now, employee offerings include 30-minute lunch break fitness classes, weekly tennis clinics, self-defense classes, fitness DVD rentals and wellness workshops.
“At the end of every Monday and Wednesday, I can’t wait to end my day my with an aerobics class. Not only am I getting healthier and physically fit, the feeling of camaraderie with associates from other departments has been amazing,” says Janis Coburn, an employee in the Human Resources department. “We have a full, diverse calendar, yet I rarely check to see what the specific class is; I just go. I love all the classes!”
Programming Wellness Workshops and Competitions
In order to grow the Employee Wellness Program, several other components were created to complement the popular fitness classes. The club devised wellness workshops to educate staff on a variety of topics to help improve their quality of life. These include introduction to fitness chats, Yoga seminars, Lifebreath meditation courses and joint health classes. The workshops are held at a variety of times convenient for club employees, often during lunch hours. The club found that these classes would not only help the employees in their personal life, but in the workplace as well. For example, many workers with physically demanding jobs benefitted from the joint health class by learning how to protect their bodies while performing job duties.
The educational programs offered at Ocean Reef Club have continued to expand: the American Heart Association hosts wellness fairs twice a year, and representatives from Cigna (the Club’s health insurance provider) conduct summer classes on topics such as heart health and work-life balance. The club also helps subsidize Weight Watchers and smoking cessation programs for employees. The smoking cessation program has proven very successful and has reduced the percentage of employees who smoke from 20 to nine.
“I couldn’t quit smoking without the support of the smoking cessation six week program provided to us,” said Jose Belaval, an engineering employee. “Each week, the group of now non-smokers, would meet with the AHEC counselor and support one another through this very challenging time of becoming a non-smoker. It’s been over two years since I quit and am now enjoying a smoke-free, healthy life.”
To keep the inspiration flowing, the club also created a bi-annual “ReeFitness” competition. ReeFitness is a self-directed, four-month program similar to NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” which tallies points based upon weight loss and dedication to fitness. Because each individual’s exercise preference differs, employees can choose to compete in either the individual or team contest. Employees can win prizes worth up to $500. In order to encourage employees to utilize the club’s wellness program, extra points are awarded for attending fitness classes and completing (discounted) personal training sessions at the club. Participants can measure their success with state-of-the-art testing equipment that con- ducts body composition physiographs and measures basal metabolic rates.
LifeBreath meditation courses proved beneficial to club employees as well. “I did not understand the importance of breathing—its impact on your performance, stress level and overall health—until I experienced a LifeBreath class,” says Molly Carroll, a communications department employee. “The experience during the class is not only calming and energizing, but it is powerful enough to make you realize how much you can control with your own body and breathing techniques. I use what I learned in LifeBreath when I am nervous before a presentation, running late to a meeting, and also when I exercise and forget to breathe all together!”
Transforming the Employee Cafeteria
With an understanding that complete employee wellness should include healthy nutrition choices, the club Food & Beverage team took on the task of revamping the employee cafeteria menu. The team consulted with a Baptist Health nutritionist and decided to address the fact that unhealthy foods are normally cheaper than wholesome choices by offering healthy items at a reduced cost. The club offered salads for less than $2.00 and whole meals named the “South Beach Option” for $3.00. These meals featured lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables. Many employees were not accustomed to this type of cuisine, so the club also created summer healthy cooking classes to help employees continue eating well at home, too. The club hosts its cooking classes approximately once a month during the off season and features topics such as “gluten free” diets; “you are what you eat”; and “healthy home cooking.”
Catering to the Mind, Body and Spirit
To truly make the Ocean Reef Club Employee Wellness Program beneficial for the mind, body and spirit of its employees, the Spa and Salon have also contributed to the effort. Employees receive a 50 percent discount on relaxing spa treatments such as massage, reflexology, body scrubs, foot and leg treatments, body wraps, facial treatments, nail services, and much more. The Salon and Spa also offer a 25 percent discount on all-natural beauty care products, cosmeceuticals and products used in clinical treatments. These values truly demonstrate the Spa and Salon’s commitment to helping employees relax. By offering discounts that bring the price of products and services down to cost, the club forgoes profits on the sale of products and services in exchange for a return on investment in terms of employee health and happiness.
Keeping Health Insurance Costs Down
With the overall wellness gains among club employees, the human resources team implemented a program to reward healthy employees with lower insurance rates. Each year, team members have the opportunity to participate in health risk assessment testing in factors like cholesterol levels, weight and carbon dioxide levels. Positive test results reward those employees who strive to achieve a healthy lifestyle with discounts on their health insurance premiums. The tests are conducted on-property by an independent provider.
As the Employee Wellness Program enters its sixth year, Ocean Reef Club has seen a dramatic change in the overall attitude of its employees towards wellness. A handful of participants in basic fitness classes transformed into a program that encompasses many employees in all facets of wellness: fitness, health care, nutrition and relaxation. With the addition of a club wellness manager position in 2011, the program shows no signs of slowing down. For more information on Ocean Reef Club, please visit www.oceanreef.com or call 305-367-5921.
Mic O’Keeffe is director of recreation at the Ocean Reef Club. He can be reached at 305-367-6501 or [email protected].
Sidebar: Ocean Reef Club Recognized by the American Heart Association
Ocean Reef Club has been recognized as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Company by the American Heart Association for its innovative Employee Wellness Program. In addition to implementing at least nine criteria outlined by the American Heart Association in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture, Ocean Reef Club earned this recognition by also providing physical activity options for employees in the workplace, offering healthy onsite eating options, developing a culture of wellness, and establishing measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness. Being designated as a Platinum-Level company indicates that the Employee Wellness Program at Ocean Reef Club additionally demonstrated at least one behavior change, one cost savings, or has achieved a positive return on investment (as document- ed by supporting data) listed in the application form.
The Fit-Friendly Companies program is a catalyst for positive change in the American workforce by helping companies to make their employees’ health and wellness a priority. Participants must have at least 25 employees in order to be considered for recognition, and recognized institutions range from organizations such as Ocean Reef Club to public universities, hospital systems and large, publicly traded companies.
American employers are losing an estimated $225.8 billion a year because of health care expenses and health-related losses in productivity—and those numbers are rising. Many American adults spend most of their waking hours at sedentary jobs; their lack of regular physical activity raises their risk for a host of medical problems, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Employers face $12.7 billion in annual medical expenses due to obesity alone.
The American Heart Association and Ocean Reef Club are working to change corporate culture by motivating employees to be more active and take a proactive approach to wellness. For more information about the Fit-Friendly Companies program and how it is helping to improve the health of Americans by focusing on a convenient, free and easy activity, visit www.startwalkingnow.org.
Sidebar: Does Your Club’s Employee Wellness Program Comply with HIPAA?
By Christine Fox
Encouraging club staff to live healthier lifestyles often benefits both employers and employees. For example, offering an incentive to workers who quit smoking can be advantageous for both sides; helping employees reduce health risks also helps employers keep health care costs down. Regardless of the kinds of wellness programs that your club offers, be sure that they do not violate the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Group Health Plans & HIPAA
The HIPAA nondiscrimination provisions generally prohibit group health plans from charging similarly situated individuals different premiums, requiring different contributions, or imposing different deductible, copayment or other cost sharing requirements based on a health factor. However, there is an exception that allows plans to offer wellness programs.
If none of the conditions for obtaining a reward under a wellness program are based on an individual satisfying a standard related to a health factor, or if no reward is offered, the program complies with the nondiscrimination requirements (assuming participation in the program is made available to all similarly situated individuals). For example, the following elements of programs would comply with HIPAA requirements:
- A program that reimburses all or part of the cost for fitness center memberships.
- A diagnostic testing program that provides rewards for participation, rather than for results.
- A program that encourages preventive care by waiving the copayment or deductible requirement for basic services, such as prenatal care or well-baby visits.
- A program that reimburses employees for the costs of smoking cessation programs, without regard to whether the employee quits smoking.
- A program that provides a reward to employees for attending a monthly health education seminar. Wellness programs that condition a reward on an individual satisfying a standard related to a health factor must meet five additional requirements described below in order to comply with HIPAA nondiscrimination rules.
Five Requirements for Reward-Based Programs
- The total reward for all the plan’s wellness programs that require satisfaction of a standard related to a health factor must be limited—generally, it must not exceed 20 percent of the cost of employee-only coverage under the plan. If dependents may participate in the wellness program, the reward must not exceed 20 percent of the cost of the coverage in which an employee and any dependents are enrolled.
- The program must be reasonably designed to promote health and prevent disease.
- The program must give individuals eligible to participate the opportunity to qualify for the reward at least once per year.
- The reward must be available to all similarly situated individuals. The program must allow a reasonable alternative standard (or waiver of initial standard) for obtaining the reward to any individual for whom it is unreasonably difficult due to a medical condition, or medically inadvisable, to satisfy the initial standard.
- The plan must disclose in all materials describing the terms of the program the availability of a reasonable alternative standard (or the possibility of a waiver of the initial standard).
In order to be subject to HIPAA’s nondiscrimination requirements, a wellness program must be, or be part of, a group health plan. If an employer operates a wellness program as an employment policy separate from the group health plan, the program may be covered by other federal or state nondiscrimination laws, but it would not be subject to HIPAA’s nondiscrimination regulations.
As with any employee program, check with a knowledgeable employment law attorney to ensure that your program complies with all applicable state and federal laws, including nondiscrimination laws other than HIPAA.
Christine Fox is a client solutions specialist at ClubPay. She can be reached at 877-729-4258 ext. 101 or [email protected]. For more information, visit www.clubpayroll.com.