OrthoCarolina: Healthiest Employer in Area for 2nd Year

At OrthoCarolina they walk the walk…and run…and lift weights.

The Charlotte-based organization has been named the city’s Healthiest Employers by the Charlotte Business Journal for the second year in a row, in the category of 1,500-4,999 Employees. (OrthoCarolina has 1,600 employees.) OrthoCarolina’s score was also the highest overall for any company in any category in this year’s awards.

OrthoCarolina wrote in its July 12, 2017 press release, “OrthoCarolina’s nationally recognized Be Well corporate wellness program involves nearly 90 percent of its staff at 39 locations in health and wellness-focused activities and programs. Variety and convenience are the keys to engaging such a comprehensive number of employees in the wellness program, says Jason Boudrie, director of Wellness for OrthoCarolina, who has over 20 years of experience in the fitness and wellness industry…”

“As part of the Be Well program OrthoCarolina offers onsite fitness centers and exercise classes, weight management programs, health fairs, appointments with registered dietitians and health coaches, health screenings, charity walking and running events and more. Employees earn incentives based on participation and progress in programs focused on achieving measurable, individual results. A points-based system with online tools tracks data recorded by employees, who can earn cash bonuses or HSA account bonuses for participation.”

Jason Boudrie told OTW, “Health and wellness is a cornerstone for OrthoCarolina. We feel we have a responsibility to our patients to practice what we preach. Our staff are invaluable to us and their wellbeing is critical to our success and growth as an organization.”

As the company indicated in its news release, “OrthoCarolina has saved about $1.2 million per year since 2014 in employee healthcare costs based on claims cost reductions, healthcare cost savings and trend.”

“A secondary benefit of having a healthy workforce is saving on healthcare costs for our staff, because we don’t need to spend as much on it,” says Boudrie. “When we’re healthier as a whole we have more money to put back into our employees and our business.”

Boudrie commented to OTW, “Our annual health screenings, follow up health coaching, and a program based on improving health values year after year has kept our staff engaged, encouraged and making progress towards a healthier organization.”

“Our ‘Be Well’ program has several requirements along with point earning opportunities. Earning a higher level of points equates to a higher HSA [health savings account] incentive. The more engaged and active our staff are in the program, the more of an incentive they’ll earn, not to mention they’re generally healthier, too!”