In 2006, nearly three-quarters of Canadians (74%) had used at least one alternative therapy sometime in their lives. (Source: The Fraser Institute.)
Long gone are the days where our health relies solely on conventional medicine. There is no question that conventional medicine is a vital resource to all of us but with the continued burden on our health care system and economy, it is prudent for everyone to look at alternatives to staying healthy.
The critical piece in staying healthy is reclaiming ownership over our health, while working alongside healthcare practitioners. All too often we find the burden of healthcare resting heavily on our physicians. With the ongoing shortage of family practitioners and other specialists in numerous communities, and with a growing number of citizens without a family doctor, the Ministry of Health is supporting alternative and complementary healthcare for all, most recently with one of the newest regulated healthcare professions, homeopathy.
Whether your choice for alternative health care is homeopathy, massage, acupuncture or something else from the extensive list of possibilities, workplaces must be at the forefront of accepting these healthcare choices and providing convenient access for their employees.
Unfortunately, for the 30 years I have worked in the occupational health nursing field, I have seen a decline with onsite health services. When the budget comes under scrutiny, this seems to be one of the first to be expended. The larger the organization, the better chance of having onsite health services.
To add value to existing choices, employers should take a proactive position to ensure the continued health of their employees by offering an array of healthcare choices. Healthier employees have more production, better attendance and increased morale – all necessary for a viable workplace in today’s economic times.
How to go about this? Employers can choose any one of the following suggestions to implement alternative healthcare choices at their workplace:
- To offset their costs, employers can offer onsite services for nominal fees to be paid by the employee. The convenience alone will ensure participation from the employees and management team.
- Change your benefit plan to add alternative health – employers can add a limited number of dollars, allowing the employee to spend their benefit dollars with their choice of alternative healthcare services.
- Resurrect occupational health departments with the sole purpose of providing healthcare choices to the employees. Many departments today have a narrow focus on occupational health roles such as managing disability, attendance issues or safety.
- Engage local community resources to provide regular workplace education sessions and services onsite or through vendor-preferred plans, e.g., fitness facilities where companies pay partial or full gym memberships for their employees.
Unfortunately, paying for memberships at local community gyms remains an arm’s length approach for employers to instilling and promoting healthier lifestyles. While many of us struggle daily with staying healthy, myself included, the ongoing support of a caring employer can make the transition to a healthier life that much easier with easy and convenient access to onsite professionals offering a variety of alternative healthcare choices. Choosing your providers carefully will yield cost savings in attendance, absenteeism, disability claims, employee benefits, morale, and many other benefits.
If you have no onsite services but would like to entertain this new endeavor in next year’s budget, call Fournier Health for a consultation to examine ways to approach healthier alternatives in the workplace. We can also help with existing occupational health services with a strategic plan development for increasing services, and/or provide access to Fournier Health’s alternative health care practitioners.
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