City Council Meeting
February 28, 2023
Amy Reeve
Director of Human Resources
1 STUDY SESSION TO PROVIDE
AN OVERVIEW OF THE CITY OF
SANTA ROSA WELLNESS
PROGRAM
2 Agenda
WHAT IS WORKPLACE
WELLNESS?
ADDITIONAL WELLNESS
INITIATIVES AND
RESOURCES
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
WELLNESS
INITIATIVES
Q & A
3 What is a Workplace Wellness
Program?
A Wellness Program is a broad term used to describe activities, programs, and/or policies that the City offers to its workforce, as a supplement to traditional Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits.
All wellness benefits are intended to encourage employees to stay healthy or improve their overall health and well-being, rather than treat specific illnesses or conditions.
Examples include: programs that help support and promote physical activity, mental and behavioral health resources, eldercare, childcare, financial well-being and connectedness.
City of Santa Rosa Wellness Program
Overview
• Enhanced Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) with specialty provider network, through Concern EAP ,
• Supplemental EAP through the Standard Life Plan,
• Annual Wellness Program ($500 per employee, for most
bargaining units),
• Cordico App for public safety employees,
• Monthly Learning Aids,
• Gym facilities at some City locations and open enrollment discounts,
• Discounts and savings for supplemental programs such as elder and dependent care, legal resources, gym and weight loss programs and a variety of mental health and counseling services. 4 5
City of Santa Rosa Wellness Initiatives
Concern Employee Assistance Program
The City of Santa Rosa has invested in improving our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees.
The Concern EAP program was selected after completing a Request for Proposal (RFP) in 2020, to enhance the City’s EAP program. The City changed from MHN to Concern and provided a variety of plan enhancements.
Savings from the selection of a new (LTD/STD)disability provider were reallocated to supplement and enhance the wellness program across the City.
How is Concern EAP Different?
• Concern is a boutique style EAP plan, offering a personalized approach to overall employee health, with a focus on making the program both accessible and useful for all employees.
• Concern integrated the City’s existing First Responders network and included preferred providers into the program. This change included authorizing care through a specialized panel of providers, who are culturally competent and experienced in working with First Responders.
• The City increased the number of visits for First Responders from 5 to 10 sessions, per incident.
• Utilization has increased for all employees 6
7 Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The Concern Difference
• Our employees receive expert guidance for life’s unexpected events and have easy access to self-help tools organized by topic with articles, apps, and videos.
• A network of experienced, licensed counselors that can help with stress, depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, major life changes, substance abuse, communication issues, emotional well-being, anger, grief, loss, job stress, and work conflicts.
• Experts are also available to provide discounted financial and legal consultation.
• All services can be accessed in-person or via telephone, video, text, or chat and are completely confidential.
• All benefits through Concern are available to benefit eligible employees, their family/household members and dependent children, up to age 26 (even while living outside the household).
8 Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Concern Results
The City of Santa Rosa changed the EAP provider from Managed Health Network (MHN) to the Concern EAP , on August 1, 2020.
Based on an analysis of overall utilization, for the last 3 years:
• Overall plan utilization for counseling and work-life benefits has increased from 9.6% under the previous provider MHN, to 18.8% in the last plan year
9 Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Concern for First Responders
The City of Santa Rosa has a specialized program for Police and Fire:
• Includes all “First Responders” as defined by the City • Utilization by these departments has far exceeded Concern’s expected utilization rates
• Prior to August 2020, First Responder visits to the City’s special panel were paid directly by the employee or the City
Contract Period Department Expected
Utilization Rate
Actual
Utilization Rate Percent Counseling Average sessions per case
8/1/20 – 7/31/21 Fire Department 12-15% 27.10% 92% 6.9
Police Department 12-15% 30.60% 97% 6.2
Other Employees 5.50% 5.80% 68% 4
8/1/21 – 7/31/22 Fire Department 12-15% 39.90% 98% 6.2
Police Department 12-15% 32.40% 96% 6.3
Other Employees 5.50% 9.60% 70% 4.2
10 Additional EAP Resources: The Standard
The Standard EAP
Effective August 2020, our workforce can take advantage of an additional Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through our Life insurance provider, The Standard.
This is a supplemental benefit offered free of charge for Standard clients and the program is offered in addition to the Concern EAP .
The following resources are available on the member website:
• Free, online library of self-guided trainings and webinars covering topics such as: Professional and Personal Development, Health and Wellness, and Financial Management.
• Customized workshops for managers and employees that provide strategic tools and resources for improving performance and accelerating professional growth.
• Crisis management services providing onsite leadership and management consultations, employee group briefings and individual crisis support.
The Employee Assistance Program through The Standard is available to all our employees, and their families 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
11 ANNUAL WELLNESS PAYMENT
During the last round of negotiations, most miscellaneous employee bargaining units were provided with an annual $500 wellness benefit. The incentive is paid out to each eligible employee on their first paycheck in January, of each year.
The payment is to be used for wellness programs such as gym memberships, to purchase fitness equipment, and/or to participate in other wellness programs including smoking cessation, diabetes management programs, weight loss programs, or to obtain preventive health screenings which will enhance the health and well-being of City staff.
The goal is to promote health and wellness, including employee physical and mental fitness.
City of Santa Rosa Wellness Initiatives
12 CORDICO
In 2020, as a compliment to Concern EAP , the City invested in the Cordico tool as an additional support network for the Police and Fire Departments.
Cordico provides safety employees and their family members with on-demand, direct access to their peer support group, through a phone/web application on their cell phone with access to relevant, trusted and effective wellness resources that provide immediate support addressing mental and physical wellness.
The wellness app offers a complete range of self-assessments as well as continuously updated videos, guides and courses on more than 60 behavioral health topics—all designed specifically for first responders.
Through Cordico, our first responders have access to anonymous assessments and counseling resources that will help them cope with the effects of stress and chronic exposure, unique to public safety.
Cordico App for Public Safety Wellness
Cordico App for Public Safety Wellness (Continued)
The Cordico solution provides a variety of specialized benefits for Public Safety Employees, including:
• Mental Health Providers, Nutritionists, Physical Therapists, and Chiropractors,
• Anonymous Self Assessments,
• Wellness Toolkit: Alcohol, Compassion Fatigue, Critical Incidents, Depression, Family Support, Financial Fitness, Marriage/Relationship Guidance, Mindfulness, Peer Support, Stress, Sleep Optimization, Suicide Prevention and much more,
• Physical Support: Yoga for First Responders, Physical Therapy Videos, Nutrition Guides, Sleep Sounds, Guided Meditation and Breathing techniques and Injury Prevention.
Cordico’s wellness solution delivers highly specific results and next-step guidance to improve decision-making, empathy and resiliency, which in turn enhance First responders – Community relations.
13 14
Wellness Solutions
-
WorkCare
City of Santa Rosa Wellness Initiatives
–
Police
Department
In March 2020, the Police Department selected Wellness Solutions to continue the very successful wellness program, originally brought to the City in 2004.
In 2021, Wellness Solutions became WorkCare and continued to provide an exceptional level of service to the Police Department with a variety of wellness incentives and mental and physical health resources.
On January 24, 2023, an amendment to the contract was brought to Council to provide a full-time Wellness Director and accommodate the varied schedules of the Police Department staff. The program will continue to provide a variety of wellness services and responses to opioid-related events.
City of Santa Rosa Wellness Initiatives
–
Police
Department
THE HUB
With the goal of enhancing the onsite services and to reach a broader target audience in various ways, Wellness Solutions has developed and implemented a customized wellness platform/app called The Hub, for the Santa Rosa Police Department.
One-on-one guidance is key to successful behavior change.
This wellness program manages all components of the wellness program including, but not limited to:
• Blood screening with consultation
• Fitness Assessments
• Exercise prescription
• Behavioral coaching
15 16
The Police Department has seen many
benefits in having a wellness program
over the past five years; including a
decrease in the number of injuries and/or
the severity of injury and cost of
associated treatment, reducing the
workers' compensation costs to the City.
Functional Movement Screening
A particularly important component of
this wellness program is the
administration of a Functional Movement
Screen (FMS) to assess participants
mobility, stability, and overall movement
quality.
Although the number of injuries for SRPD
increased in 2019, the total incurred
costs per injury, decreased.
City of Santa Rosa Wellness Initiatives
–
Police
Department (Continued)
17 PEER SUPPORT TRAINING
A group of firefighters went through The Peer Support Training program delivered by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). After receiving training, our peer support instructors have been successful in aiding in the recovery process for others experiencing trauma and stress.
The IAFF delivers training in two formats:
1) two days in person or
2) three days online
After completing the training, members have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide support to their peers, have a basic understanding of common behavioral health issues affecting the fire service, can serve as a bridge to community resources or behavioral health treatment when indicated, and are able to build or enhance their peer support programs.
City of Santa Rosa Fire Wellness Initiatives
18 Additional Wellness Initiatives and Resources
Learning Aids
The City of Santa Rosa recognizes that employees who participate in health and wellness programs will demonstrate an increased understanding of healthy behaviors and practices that create a healthy workforce and safe community.
We are committed to providing our workforce with a variety of incentives, tools, support, and strategies that encourage wellness education, and increase self-awareness, self-care, and well-being. Our monthly Learning Aid series , distributed by our Training and Organizational Development Officer, is a tool that shares important information, and promotes programs and services available to all employees. Examples of past Learning Aid topics include: Work/Life Balance, Quiet Thriving and The Power of Gratitude.
The Learning Aid introduces a new topic each month that provides the reader with valuable and engaging information, and a direct call to action, with the purpose of educating and supporting our workforce. 19 Sample Learning Aid
20 HR Training and Organizational Development
21 Kaiser Monthly Newsletters:
Each month Kaiser will share their E-Newsletter which contains a variety of resources available to support our workforce. Employees will have the opportunity to sign up for wellness campaigns and health talks and attend webinars that will address different topics including presentations by providers that are experts in their fields, information regarding health coverage through Medicare after retirement, or retirement age.
All City employees are welcome to access these resources, regardless of their health plan.
Additional Wellness Initiatives and Resources
22 A
More
Well
-
Rounded
Approach
The City of Santa Rosa understands that it is crucial to establish engaging employee wellness initiatives that support and prioritize work-life balance.
Some of the initiatives that are being reviewed to enhance the existing wellness resources include:
• Enhancement to current VSP eyecare benefits to provide blue blocker glasses and enhanced coverage.
• Childcare assistance for City of Santa Rosa employees through WeeCare. • Enhance current benefit offerings to further support mental health in the workplace through Calm, a meditation and wellness app.
The City is looking to team up with providers that encourage and help employees form healthy habits, ensure accessibility, and create a culture that celebrates wellness.
Other Wellness Resources Under Consideration
Questions?
23