Program Description

Aetna's workforce is located in multiple geographic locations both at the home office and in the field. The current total home office population is 15,598 housed at 11 different locations. The full range of program elements noted are available to employees, spouses and retirees.

The total field employee population of 27,127. Employees are located at 293 different locations.

Field offices with 50 or more employees = 119
Field offices with less than 50 employees = 174

Programs presently available to field employees include monthly health communications, periodic health and fitness action campaigns, self paced education (workbook with audio and/or video), video workshops for Medical Self Care and Smoking Cessation, and a Resource Lending Library with books, audiocassettes, and video learning options. The budget for health education is $445,000 and $100,000 respectively for home office and field.

All home office employees, spouses and retirees have access to four state of the art fitness centers. Membership enrollment is 5,113. The budget for fitness center facility management and fitness education is managed under the Corporate Fitness Unit.

Another program element available to all employees is ergonomic assessment and education. The Aenhance program staff works cross functionally with corporate risk management and nursing services to provide support with program resources and communication with the Aenhance field representative network (currently 200 at 135 locations) to achieve results in this programmatic area.

Cross functional programming and access is also enhanced by working with the Work/Family unit. Family injury prevention programs and the Resource Lending Library are funded by the Health Education and the Work/Family budgets jointly.

I. Narrative Description of Program 

Aenhance is Aetna's employee health enhancement program. Our mission is to contribute toward Aetna's competitive advantage by providing programs that optimize individual and organizational health through reduced health risks and enhanced functional capacity. Our goals are to build skills for healthy lifestyle practices, promote prudent use of the health care system and help build a worksite environment that optimizes well being, creativity and performance. Aetna demographics, employee health profile data and health claim information are used to prioritize program initiatives and set objectives which complement national health goals and meet organizational needs.

The program is comprehensive in scope and provided at four levels of intervention: communication and awareness, health assessment, lifestyle education and environmental support. Intervention methods are designed to motivate participants at different stages of readiness for health behavior change and to help build decision-making skills for sound self-care management and long-term results.

On-going programs are available to employees, retirees and dependents at all home office locations throughout the year. The Aenhance information Management System (AIMS) helps target populations at risk for health problems related to lifestyle. In addition, 85 percent of field employees have access to some Aenhance programs through a field representative network established at 135 field locations.

The development, delivery and evaluation of programs is managed by 4.8 professional staff with varied expertise including health promotion management, nutritional science, exercise physiology, nursing, occupational health, gerontology, health education and principles of adult learning. Budget: $545,000