Positive choices boost attendance

Wellness clinic staff members write their own prescription

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2011 :: By Laureen Lazarovici

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Management co-lead(s)

Ann.R.Preciado@kp.org

Union co-lead(s)

Betty.Davis@kp.org

Additional Resources

kp.org/healthyworkforce

The Positive Choice Wellness Center hosts a monthly salad potluck for employees

Tools to improve attendance

Find more by going to Tools, then Topics, then Attendance

• Good attendance pays off [Tool]
• 2011 Attendance Calendar [Tool]
• Poster: Healthy choices boosts attendance [Tool]
• PowerPoint: Positive choices boost attendance [Tool]
• Need to build your team? Join the club [Story]
• PSP Attendance Goal Tip Sheet Template [Tool]

 Department: Positive Choice Wellness Center, San Diego, Southern Californa

Value Compass: Best place to work

Metric: Number of last-minute sick days (on an annualized basis)

Labor co-lead: Betty Davis, department clerk, OPEIU Local 30

Management co-lead: Ann Preciado, supervising health educator

Small tests of change:

• Encourage staff to plan ahead for taking life balance days
• Educate staff and managers about the Family and Medical Leave Act and encourage its appropriate use for those with chronic conditions
• Educate staff about all aspects of the LMP attendance program, including life balance days, vacation time and ways to improve payouts for unused sick time
• Host a monthly gourmet salad potluck
• Encourage staff to sign up for kpwalk.org
• Adjust clinic start time to allow for a longer lunch break so staff can get exercise and fresh air

Results: As of the end of August 2011, last-minute sick calls were measured at 2.2 annualized days per FTE, down from 5.21 in March 2010.

Next steps: Explore more ways to encourage staff to exercise at the onsite fitness studio

Side benefits:

• Heightened awareness of everyday steps staff can take to prevent illness and stay healthy, such as regularly cleaning telephones and exercise equipment
• A ‘Thrive’ culture that reflects KP’s brand promise

Background:

The Positive Choice Wellness Clinic in the Kearny Mesa suburb of San Diego offers KP health plan members such services as exercise classes, nutrition consulting and weight management. But all was not well with the staff at the wellness center: last-minute sick calls were higher than managers and employees wanted them to be.

The unit-based team began by holding educational sessions to make sure union members on staff knew the ins and outs of attendance, including appropriate use of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and contractual benefits, such as life balance days and improvements in the 2010 National Agreement on the amount of unused sick time that can be paid out. By highlighting the advantages of good attendance and how to best use other types of leave, the team hoped to prevent burnout and reduce last-minute sick calls. The campaign helped—but not as much as the team had hoped it would.

“It became clear that if people were calling in sick, they are sick,” says Ann Preciado. That realization inspired the team to focus on steps to maintain good health.

Hosting a monthly gourmet salad potluck has been the most successful of those efforts. Employees and managers sign up to bring an ingredient based on its color (for instance, red bell pepper and brown rice instead of white.). The event is held on different days each month, which ensures that staff working different schedules can attend.

The monthly salad potluck is a refreshing change of pace, says team sponsor Kathy Jakstis, the clinic’s manager. Like so many of KP’s suburban facilities, it is surrounded by fast-food outlets that offer the only convenient options for lunch. “When we give people driving directions, we sometimes say, ‘Once you pass the McDonald’s, turn left at the Arby’s,’” she jokes.

In addition, the event gives staff and managers an opportunity to spend time together informally, which is building team cohesion, says Jakstis. “There is no pecking order,” she says. “We’re a team, just like a baseball team. The whole department feels pretty strongly that we want to support each other.”