A comprehensive wellness program involves all employees, deals with all major health risks, offers choices, and targets both the employees and the worksite environment; provides periodic evaluation of its results. A comprehensive program emphasizes follow-up and offers support for the employee as long as he/she is employed. Studies have shown this approach to be highly successful. Key components are planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Planning involves performing a needs assessment, appointing a wellness committee, selecting providers, setting goals/objectives, marketing/promoting the program, and establishing procedures to ensure confidentiality.

Implementation consists of five major tasks:

• Health screening and referral
• Follow-up and counseling employees
• Follow-up with physicians
• Health improvement programs
• Organizing worksite-wide activities

All of these tasks will be explained in this manual.

Evaluation involves monitoring your program to find out if it is working and to help you refine it. Measuring success shows what you have achieved, helps justify costs, and provides information for management to support continued programming.