Wellness Checkpoint benefits employees around globe

Sites across PPG sponsor various wellness initiatives, such as this exercise class at the global headquarters with wellknown fitness expert Leslie Sansone.

September 2006 - When it comes to health, it’s important to pay attention to the numbers.

Some of the most important numbers for measuring health indicate weight, body-mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood-glucose levels. While he urges employees to keep track of their individual numbers, Dr. Alberto Colombi, is keeping his eye on the overall PPG statistics.

Nearly 70 percent of PPG’s work force – about 22,000 of 33,000 employees – around the globe have taken PPG’s online “Wellness Checkpoint” health-risk appraisal at least once over the past five years, according to Colombi, PPG’s medical director.

“That’s an excellent response and shows that our employees, no matter where they are, care greatly about their health,” Colombi said. The Wellness Checkpoint provides a confidential, individualized health appraisal and also “acts as a personal health coach and assists in setting health-related goals.”

Tracking numbers, however, is just the beginning toward improving and maintaining health. Action – including exercise, proper diet and seeking appropriate medical attention – is essential. It pays off for PPG as well as the employee.

“There’s no doubt that increased employee health awareness reduces sick leave and PPG’s overall medical costs, and increases productivity,” Colombi said. “But that’s just a byproduct of individual employees improving their health and living better, healthier lives.”

While the health-risk assessment has no way of tracking names of employees, data from the assessments are used to track trends among strategic business units (SBUs).

“Those numbers are crucial in developing plans to address health-concerns that prevail within certain work groups – whether it’s muscle strains, high cholesterol, weight concerns and the like,” Colombi said. “As a result, health initiatives we tailor and launch in Wuppertal, Germany, for example, could differ greatly than ones we start in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Stowmarket, England; Suzhou, China; or Milan, Italy.”

“While we hope every PPG employee takes advantage of the Wellness Checkpoint and the overall online Wellness Center,” Colombi said, “it can be a tremendous benefit for every retiree and family member, too.”

The Wellness Center Web contains resources on health issues related to women, children and seniors; how to be a wise health-care consumer; information on the quality of health care; a hospital locator; information on health reform; and how to become involved in local PPG wellness teams.

The health-risk assessment and the entire Wellness Center Web is available in Brazilian-Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German and Italian. The site is also being translated into Korean and Malay.