A Successful Occupational Health Nurse-Driven Health Promotion Program to Support Corporate Sustainability

Abstract

Health promotion programs offer an opportunity to support the health of employees, their families, and the communities in which they reside. By integrating health promotion programs with a company's sustainability efforts, the occupational health nurse can directly impact the company's bottom line by ensuring the benefits from a healthy, safe, and fully productive employee who is able to remain in the workplace for some time. This article discusses a successful health promotion program developed and implemented by an occupational health nurse in support of a company's sustainability effort.

Sustainability in nursing: a concept analysis

“…Keating, Thompson and Lee 40 define sustainability as follows: “to enable one to bear something, to keep from failing, to strengthen, to encourage, to keep up, to prolong or to maintain” (40, p. 150). Sustainability on the basis that something will be strong enough to resist pressure or the use of a financial and economic definition of sustainability emerged when the authors defined sustainability as the financial power of the healthcare system 41 , 42 .…”

“…Furthermore, in the articles by Taylor et al. 41 and Rémond and Kalina 42 , the future is a central part of the ability to continue over a period of time, for example, through addressing sustainability to retain fully productive employee in the workplace.…”

Self-Care and Yoga—Academic—Practice Collaboration for Occupational Health

“…Additional recommendations for sustainability are rooted in the financial motivation supporting em-PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE ployee wellness programs. To sustain any wellness program, including a yoga-based wellness program, stakeholders must identify key indicators or outcomes that will demonstrate program value to upper administration via a clear return on investment model (Redmond & Kalina, 2009). Such outcomes may include employee illnesses, injuries, absenteeism, and retention.…”

“…Such outcomes may include employee illnesses, injuries, absenteeism, and retention. Although many factors contribute to employee productivity outcomes, when a case exists for a positive relationship between participation in wellness programs and productivity, program sustainability aligns with the overall goals of the organization (Redmond & Kalina, 2009).…”