When employers look to cut costs, they often wind up implementing pay and hiring freezes or even terminate positions; however, maybe they should take a look at health care costs.

The average annual family premium for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 in 2009, according to a recent report by the White House, entitled "The Burden of Health Insurance Premium Increases on American Families."

As employer-sponsored health insurance premiums skyrocket, worksite wellness policies are getting a lot of attention for their ability to reduce employer health costs, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity.

From wellness committees to smoking cessation, employers are coming up with new ways to keep employees out of the hospital.

JMZ Architects and Planners in downtown Glens Falls is ahead of the curve with its "JMZ FIT" Wellness Program, which includes weekly yoga classes, smoking cessation workshops, outdoor office activities, and even Nintendo Wii Fit competitions.

"Healthy employees reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, improve morale, and help to reduce the chance of spreading an illness throughout our office, said Kim Filion, director of finance and human resources at JMZ.

Presenteeism is a fairly new word that that human resources departments use referring to productivity.

"Yeah, the employee is at work, but area they actually present?" asked Lisa Wheeler- Camp, a certified yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner.

Wheeler-Camp teaches a weekly yoga class at JMZ. She said JMZ employees, especially men, have taken to the yoga program.

"It's more men than women there," Wheeler-Camp said.

Wheeler-Camp said she has seen her business, Inner Light Yoga, shift from individuals to more groups and now teaches as many as four classes a day, seven-days-a-week in the area.

"I think they (businesses) realize if they make a small investment in the employees they do have, they can decrease healthcare costs, increase productivity and can decrease absenteeism," Wheeler-Camp said, pointing out a recent article in Women's Health magazine that listed wellness manager as one of today's hottest careers.

An excerpt from the article reads:

'Even small companies are beginning to hire at least one position dedicated to employee wellness,' said Jennifer Robin of the Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco, a research and consulting firm that compiles data for Fortune's annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Wellness managers, sometimes called integrative health practitioners, are also in demand in the public-health sector and at hospitals. You might head up a company's onsite fitness center or direct stress-reduction or weight-loss groups. Leadership skills and a warm, encouraging personality are key."

JMZ is not alone in creating a wellness policy. At Glens Falls Hospital, the Nutrition Services Department spearheaded a number of efforts to provide options to employees and visitors that promote a "Live Well" philosophy. A Wellness Team was created and has active participation from employees throughout the organization. Some of the changes spearheaded by the Glens Falls Hospital's Wellness Team include:

• Trans-fat free menu options offered by vendors (when available).
• Half-portion entrees, fat-free salad dressings, baked chips, Lean Cuisine offerings, as well as a self-serve fruit and salad bar in the cafeteria.
• GFH has an on-site farmers' market provided weekly to employees in cafeteria during the months of July, August and September and is developing an onsite garden to further increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Nutrition labeling at point of sale.
• [Nutrition labeling is something not yet mandated by the state but embraced in different forms by grocery stores like Hannaford (Guiding Stars) and Price Chopper (Healthy U)].
• Diet (sugar-free) beverages and teas widely available.
• Vending options include 32 percent healthy options by Glens Falls Hospital definition.

In addition, Quad Graphics, Saratoga County's largest employer, has a well-developed worksite wellness program called LEANYOU! Implemented by Quad-Med - Quad Graphic's corporate-wide primary care provider - LEANYOU! is a program concerned with the "total wellness" of Quad Graphics many employees, in Saratoga and throughout the country.

According to Quad Med primary care physician Thomas Van Gilder, MD, LEANYOU! was designed to make things easier for an employee (and spouse) to visit a doctor, test their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and set up a plan for themselves that includes eating well and utilizing fitness facilities.

"Investing in primary and preventive care helps us control health care costs for our employees and improve overall quality of service," Van Gilder said.

Van Gilder said employees/spouses can see a reduction in health care premiums if certain goals are met - such as lowering blood pressure or going tobacco-free. Completion of the program also translates into a $400 cash reward for employee and their spouse.

Some of the things Van Gilder recommends to anyone working in a cubicle or in front of a computer include:

• Parking a distance from your normal entrance to increase steps-per-day.
• Wear a pedometer that measures steps-per-day. "We recommend 10,000 steps a day," Van Gilder said.
• Stretching throughout the day; which includes focusing on correct posture and getting up for a walk several times a day.
• For those working in front of a computer for long periods of time: look 20-feet into the distance occasionally to prevent eye damage.
• Be conscious of your Body Mass Index (measure obesity) and past medical history and maintain a close relationship with a dietician and primary care doctor to monitor blood pressure, daily calorie intake and cholesterol levels.

Find your inner Light

Wheeler-Camp, 38, is a walking testament to how a stressful job can affect your health, and how yoga can help. After 12 years as a human resources manager at a big box retailer, Wheeler-Camp was physically and mentally worn out. She was happily married with two children, but the stress of her job and the travelling that accompanied it had taken its toll. So she consulted her family doctor and even sought out a life coach for advice on how she could improve her health and her life. Their advice was to take some time off to reassess her interests and career and find what truly made her happy.

Last year she quit her job in human resources and took three months to reconsider what she wanted to do with her life.

She decided she wanted to help others as her life coach and doctor had helped her and that teaching fitness and yoga would be a good place to start.

"I said to my husband, if I can just help one person get through what I just went through, then I could be happy," Wheeler-Camp said.

She spent 30 days training at the Kripalu Center in Lennox, Mass., and began her own business, Inner Light Yoga. Business is booming and the decision to "follow her heart" was life-changing for Wheeler-Camp.

"You either create a life or make a living," Wheeler-Camp said. "I am beyond happy now."

Wheeler-Camp is certified to teach a form of yoga known as Kripalu. The class includes singular postures as well as flowing posture sequences, breath work and meditation. According to Wheeler-Camp, it increases strength, endurance, balance, flexibility, and focus.

One word Wheeler-Camp emphasizes is "mindfulness."

"Being mindful is thinking about right now, not about the 50-plus things you have to do when you leave here," she said. "Stopping to breathe and relax and enjoy what is going on right now. Not always grasping for what you want."

In addition to offering group and private sessions with Inner Light Yoga, Wheeler-Camp also teaches a number of classes at the Glens Falls YMCA, including yoga, Pilates, Zumba, yoga-lates, chair yoga for seniors, little yogis for toddlers and family yoga for ages 3-and-older and their parents.

For more information about Inner Light Yoga, call 745-8125 or send an e-mail to findyourinnerlight@gmail.com.

A 2002 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study showed that companies with physical activity programs for employees have reduced health care costs by 20 to 55 percent, reduced short-term sick leave by up to 32 percent and increased productivity by up to 52 percent.