Fine-Tuning the Investment in Employee Health

Cleveland Heartlab Press Releases

CLEVELAND – August 2013 – When Classic Auto Group launched its car shopping website, they said they were bringing the showroom direct to the customer. This month, Classic Auto Group is launching a new employee health program based on the same principle: bringing health care directly to their employees. Despite spending over $100,000 on the program, president Jim Brown knows from experience that it won’t cost him a dime.

“There is no question that employee health programs save us money. You’re bringing the cure to the place of work,” said Mr. Brown.

This is particularly important to Classic, because like many other small businesses, they self-fund their health insurance plan. This means that there’s no anonymous health insurance company absorbing extra costs – every health expense comes directly out of the bottom line.

Dr. Thomas Morledge understands Mr. Brown’s concern with the bottom line. A small business owner himself, Dr. Morledge developed a new model for healthcare: a concierge practice that offers holistic, lifestyle medicine, called Revati Wellness. Members of Revati Wellness not only get immediate access to their doctor, but also individualized training and coaching in nutrition, exercise, and stress management.

Mr. Brown immediately saw the relevance of this approach to his employees. He asked Dr. Morledge to custom design a program for his company that would help his employees make changes that last. The pilot program kicked off last October with 10 employees.

The program developed by Dr. Morledge is the first of its kind – a year?long program encompassing both individualized medical care and group education. In addition to supporting a gradual process of lifestyle change, it also provides medical care for the participants, and incorporates leading edge tracking of cardiovascular markers by Cleveland HeartLab to make lifestyle results measurable. Most importantly, it takes place at the Classic Auto Campus.

“The accessibility of health care is very important,” said Mr. Brown. “If they’re at work, where you can encourage them, they’re more likely to succeed than if they have to go elsewhere.”

Six months in, the pilot program saw remarkable results. In addition to losing weight, participants gained muscle, reduced inflammation as measured by Cleveland HeartLab testing, and actually became more committed to the program. Individually, Dr. Morledge identified previously undiagnosed diabetes in one participant and kidney disease in another, and cured chronic migraines in yet another with a simple dietary change. For many participants, medical concerns had previously limited their ability to implement lifestyle changes, so having a personal doctor was essential.

After seeing these results, Mr. Brown extended the program to an additional 36 participants, who began the program in July with on?site blood draws, exercise evaluations, and group educational sessions.

“This does not just impact the employee,” said Mr. Brown, “but their entire family. In America, there’s no one better suited to help people than their employers.”

The current partnership capitalizes on the abundance of resources Cleveland offers – Revati Wellness provides medical care, lifestyle coaching, and ongoing education while Cleveland HeartLab provides innovative testing to measure the impact of the interventions. And, most importantly, Classic Auto employees become healthier, more energetic, and ultimately, save the company both time and money.

For more information about Classic Auto Group, visit www.driveclassic.com or call 800?388?1098.

For more information about Revati Wellness, visit www.revatiwellness.com or call 440?249?4455.

For more information about Cleveland HeartLab, visit www.clevelandheartlab.com or call 866?358?9828.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lisa Szabo
Cleveland HeartLab
216-426-6081
lszabo@clevelandheartlab.com

Krissy Ferris
Office: 440?249?4455
Mobile: 440?667?6976
krissy@revatiwellness.com