Workplace Options News: New EAP Service Helps Employees Stay Fit While Controlling Employer Health Care Costs

Press Releases

New EAP Service Helps Employees Stay Fit While Controlling Employer Health Care Costs

Exclusive Partnership between Workplace Options and SparkPeople Gives EAPs Access to Comprehensive Weight Management and Fitness Services

Contact:
Christine Hall
chall@capstrat.com
919-882-1998

28 October 2004 – Raleigh, NC – Workplace Options, the leading provider of work life programs to corporate America through partnerships with employee assistance (EAP) companies, has formed an exclusive alliance with SparkPeople, an innovative provider of online weight management and fitness service.

The online weight management and fitness services will complement the wellness coaching and referral services that WPO currently offers employers through relationships with EAP companies.

The online weight loss programs, developed by an expert team of registered dieticians, certified personal trainers, medical doctors and a Ph.D. human behavior expert, help individuals fight obesity, a major contributor to employer healthcare costs. The unique programs ignore fad diets and instead give employees easy-to-follow, personalized plans that follow the recommendations of most medical and fitness experts. Some of the program specifics include:

Daily Nutritional Guides: meal plans, shopping lists, a customizable food tracker and a nutrient look-up.
Fitness Program: videos of recommended exercises, suggested 10- and 30- minute workouts, a "calories burned" calculator.
Expert Assistance and Motivation: a registered dietician and licensed nutritionist, a certified physical fitness instructor, physical trainers and motivation specialists regularly participate in interactive community forums and supportive message boards.
Engaging, timely articles; strategies and check-lists

WPO's EAP partners will be able provide the online weight management and fitness services their corporate customers. EAP's are the ideal platform for offering these programs. Many employees are already accustomed to contacting their EAP for their behavioral and wellness issues related to obesity. Furthermore, most of the Fortune 1,000 already have EAPs in place, so they can leverage existing employee promotion campaigns to quickly build awareness of the wellness services and cross-promote them to employees who have contacted the EAP for weight and overall health management assistance.

"Employees are more likely to show up for work and perform well when they are in good physical health," says Alan King, COO of Workplace Options. "By integrating SparkPeople's online health programs with our personalized wellness coaching and referral services, our EAP customers can offer employers an affordable and comprehensive health program that will also help to control health care costs".

"We see the results every day. People who use our programs increase their health, their energy, their confidence, and their job performance," says Sean McCosh, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at SparkPeople. "We are proud to begin offering our programs to the millions of employees who already rely on WPO for managing the demands of their work and personal lives."

In addition to the new online services, WPO already offers wellness coaching services, referrals to local health and wellness providers and resources, health club discounts, health risk assessments and on-site screenings and seminars.

About Workplace Options

Workplace Options helps employees balance their work, family and personal life in order to make their lives healthier, easier and more productive. The company's world-class employee support and work-life services provide information, resources, referrals and consultation on a variety of issues ranging from dependent care, legal and financial issues to stress management and wellness.

Drawing from an international network of credentialed providers and professionals, Workplace Options is the world's largest integrated employee support services and work-life provider. Service centers in Raleigh. N.C., London, Toronto and Dublin support more than 32 million employees in 20,000 organizations, across 170 countries. To learn more, visit www.workplaceoptions.com.