Sessions

Changing the Way We Work: Well-Being in Healthcare Workplaces, Policies, and Practices

The circumstances of the last several years have exacerbated ongoing challenges of stress, fatigue, burnout, and mental strain among healthcare workers, leading to significant turnover, and decreased employee engagement. There is an overdue need to innovate and change how we work by addressing the environments, policies, programs, and practices we use to support the healthcare workforce's well-being. During this year's Healthcare Summit, we will connect the dots between healthcare organizations' employee health and well-being obstacles with potential system-level solutions.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify and discuss trends in healthcare workplace policies, programs and practices that lead to unintended burdens on healthcare workers.
2. Identify successful workplace well-being practices that can be adapted and implemented in healthcare settings to retain care teams and inform strategy.
3. Discuss future directions for healthcare research to explore system-level changes to positively impact healthcare workforce well-being and organizational outcomes.

Power Shift: How Employers are Responding to the Changing Needs and Preferences of Their Workforce

One term used to explain the high turnover rates following the pandemic is “shift shock,” a concern that your values are not aligned with the organization you just signed on with. A 2022 Muse survey of 2,500 employees found that 80% of respondents felt it was “acceptable to leave a new job before six months if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.” This search for more fulfilling work was driven, in particular, by Gen Z and Millennial workers. Questions about whether working from home is a privilege or a right speak to the realities that come with a tight labor economy. At Apple, employees wrote open letters in protest of in-person work and support for greater worker autonomy is just as often expressed by service workers or laborers with jobs that require them to be at the workplace. With job postings up 30% and a quit rate 50% higher than before the pandemic, questions about how power is shifting are often answered with examples of a new “workers economy” where employees are exerting more leverage via new benefits, stay bonuses, and flexible work arrangements. This HERO “power shift” Think Tank seeks to identify those methods and tools that assess the needs and values of today’s changing workforce. We will discuss changes in employee preferences related to demographics and changes in work arrangements and identify key factors related to employees’ sense of belongingness in organizations. In discussing drivers of disengagement and discontent, we intend to surface those strategies and approaches that increase employee satisfaction and commitment to organizations. We will explore how employee health and well-being initiatives can be organized in support of sustainable cultures of caring and trust that attract and retain a robust workforce.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. List methods and tools that assess the needs and values of the workforce and discuss changes in employee preferences related to demographics and changes in work arrangements.
2. Identify key factors related to employees’ sense of belongingness in organizations and discuss drivers of social isolation, disengagement, and disenfranchisement.
3. Describe interventions, whether via policies, programs, or environmental changes, that improve employee satisfaction and retention.
4. Discuss novel strategies that have been designed to address changes in employee needs and preferences and the new ways we work.
5. Explain effective evaluation approaches that help organizations determine whether their employee retention and satisfaction initiatives are working.
6. Illustrate case examples of organizations that have improved their organizational effectiveness in adapting to changes in employees’ needs, values, and preferences.

The opening panel for Forum23 brings together employer, investor, consultant, and standards body perspectives on why health and well-being is a critical element of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives and other organizational approaches to promoting social good. How can a culture of health align with sustainability goals to drive both social impact and business value? Where does health and well-being currently sit (or not) in popular reporting frameworks? Which cross-functional and interdisciplinary collaborations are necessary to align efforts and streamline reporting? How do an organization’s sustainability efforts affect workers? What are actionable ways of leveraging health and well-being initiatives to enhance organizational performance and improve population health? In this facilitated discussion, panelists will explore these questions and more, as we consider how responsible organizations are addressing the biggest societal challenges.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe why various stakeholder groups are focusing on ESG and other sustainability metrics.
2. Explain where health and well-being fits into social impact frameworks.
3. Discuss the collaborative relationships needed in their own work to most effectively deliver shared value.

Proactive efforts to cultivate a healthy workforce and culture date back at least four decades in the U.S. Yet recent health and societal dynamics have transformed the employer-employee compact in ways that are still unfolding, and have exposed both gaps and opportunities in traditional efforts to cultivate health and well-being across the workforce. As more organizations elevate well-being to a C-suite focus, we see an emerging imperative to go deeper, and think bigger, when it comes to well-being. The lines between traditional benefits-led efforts to support Employee Wellness, and concurrent efforts to promote DE&I; to attract, nurture and develop talent; and to act as responsible stewards of shared and social resources through ESG initiatives have begun to blur, and the synergies between these efforts have started to come into focus. This dynamic panel session -- led by industry veterans and joined by panelists with real-world stories to share -- will unpack what we're calling ‘Wellbeing 3.0’, the purpose-centered fusion of personal, organizational, and social determinants of health, and the harmonizing of workforce well-being with broader DEI and ESG efforts. Finally, attendees will receive a roadmap with practical next steps to start transforming workforce well-being into a more unified and transformative set of activities with impact at the individual, organizational, and community levels.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify 5 factors that contribute to workforce well-being, engagement, and sense of purpose, and how to measure them.
2. Describe 3 new strategies for aligning well-being, DE&I, and ESG efforts in ways that better engage your workforce.
3. Cite specific impacts studies and stories shared by speakers and panelists to engage leaders and garner support for gaining leadership support and getting colleagues to the table.

As the largest ammonia producer in the world, CF Industries is a leader in the clean energy industry, both in their commitment to sustainability and their company’s role in producing environmentally sustainable energy sources, as well as their commitment to their published ESG goals around emissions/climate change, workplace/community, food security/product stewardship, and ethics/governance. The work of ammonia production for a greener tomorrow, however, can be hazardous if not coupled with a rigorous commitment to the safety and well-being of its employees. With its innovative approach to combining best-in-the-industry worker safety and occupational health with a patient-centered primary care home at each of their main locations, CFI has reduced their recordable injury rate over the past decade from 2.36 injuries per 200,000 work hours to just 0.33. Through their partnership with Proactive MD, they have seen engagement with primary care at their onsite health centers exceed 70% and have helped hundreds of members with chronic illnesses measurably lower their risk factors. This session will present the data-driven strategies and outcomes used in this holistic approach to health, well-being, DEI, and worker safety that are helping them positively impact the health of their workforce, reduce workplace hazards, improve mental health and well-being, and drive a brighter future in their communities and the world.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the components of a successful, comprehensive workforce health and well-being program.
2. Demonstrate how workforce well-being, safety, and DEI are directly connected to the success of clean energy initiatives.
3. Define metrics for measurable outcomes of workforce health, well-being, and safety initiatives.

As the world continues to emerge from the pandemic, AECOM, one of the world’s largest infrastructure firms, has strengthened its commitment to fostering a culture of well-being for its 50,000+ employees and their families around the globe. Since the launch of AECOM’s global well-being (GWB) initiative in 2018, the program has continued to evolve to deliver a world-class well-being experience. In 2022, AECOM brought together global stakeholders including HR leaders, communications partners, well-being program leaders and employee resource groups (ERGs) to spearhead the creation of new programs, resources and global benefits that address what employees need most. AECOM has an award-winning GWB website, available to all employees worldwide and their spouses/domestic partners. This site is updated regularly and provides on-demand access to both global and country-level benefits, as well as resources spanning emotional, financial, intellectual, physical, planet and social well-being topics. The company also has unique GWB challenges that have generated incredible engagement. Following the request of leaders who witnessed the lasting impact of the pandemic, AECOM developed a customized, peer-to-peer support program called Mental Health Allies, and created numerous virtual engagement opportunities to support connectivity among its global population. This session will share how AECOM developed and continues to evolve its GWB program and how, by partnering with global stakeholders, the company is able to deliver a world-class well-being experience.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the building blocks of a successful global well-being (GWB) program that meets the needs of employees, regardless of organization size.
2. Discuss how to bring together key stakeholders across an organization in order to create alignment and build synergy for GWB programs.
3. Interpret how to listen to the needs of a diverse and disparate employee base, and create GWB programs, challenges, resources and benefits that address those needs across a wide spectrum.

This session will explore the critical role of managers in supporting workers' mental health and responding to signs of mental health issues, such as stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and suicidal ideation. The session is designed to provide evidence-based insights and practical guidance on how leaders of people (i.e., senior leaders, managers, supervisors) can support and protect employee mental health through proactive and responsive supportive strategies. A review of workplace psychosocial risk factors will be included along with a general discussion about how the workplace is a missing link in understanding and promoting population mental health.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Define mental health and mental illness, from an occupational health and management perspective.
2. Describe the warning signs associated with deteriorating mental health.
3. Explain how managers and front-line supervisors can promote mental health in the workplace and recognize the warning signs to provide support to employees experiencing declines in mental health and well-being.

Healthcare navigation is complex, time-consuming, and expensive for much of today's world. Through better program design, Rockline Industries, a manufacturing company of 2500 employees, with the help of HealthCheck360, has created a better experience for employees while lowering costs. Employees get the care they need, when they need it, in the most efficient way. Rockline has seen immediate results with savings over $400,000 in just one year, and ROI above 300%. Rockline leverages advocacy experts, a unique incentive structure, and technology to get the most out of existing benefits, connect employees with the best available care at lower costs, while reducing the workload on their HR team. Rockline Industries will share their data and results along with their strategy for saving time and money and improving the employee experience.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize effective incentive, plan-design, and communication strategies that compel employees to put your advocacy program to use.
2. Articulate how to engage employees in making smarter healthcare choices and drive cost-savings with higher quality, lower cost care.
3. Demonstrate how to integrate your care solutions to support employees and their families no matter where they are across the spectrum of health.

What does it mean to truly live your organization's values? For most, it's an aspiration rarely achieved. But for Kayla Lantgios, Benefits Specialist from Gonzaga University, it's a reality. "Cura Personalis" -- care for the whole person -- is the guiding theme of this Catholic, Jesuit school in Spokane, WA with a staff and faculty of about 3,000. The benefits team went from providing the bare minimum to now fully supporting the needs of a rural, hybrid, older workforce that struggles with MSK pain and depression/anxiety--continually in the top 3 claims costs. After partnering with Hinge Health, GU participants have seen a 52% reduction in pain, a 65% reduction in absenteeism/presenteeism, and a 63% reduction in depression/anxiety.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Articulate which employee engagement strategies deliver the best results.
2. Identify how digital benefits solutions help address health equity issues.
3. Recognize the links between pain and depression/anxiety.

There is an urgent need for increased implementation of Lifestyle Medicine (LM), but barriers remain (e.g., current reimbursement models). Given that employers have long been recognized as having a significant influence on the health and well-being of their employees and their communities, experts have underscored the critical role employers could play in advancing LM. With funding from the Ardmore Institute of Health, the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) conducted research to accelerate the implementation of LM by identifying pathways for employers to: 1) create the conditions for LM to be integrated into employee’s health and well-being offerings; 2) relate LM to key business outcomes; 3) consider how they can extend the influence of their whole-person health initiatives into their communities; and 4) advocate for LM reimbursement. Specifically, HERO captured the perspective of employers and “bright spot” organizations who are innovators in LM (e.g., Carmel Clay Schools) in a series of in-depth interviews; identified emerging promising practices; and sought input on and refined the list of emerging promising practices in three interdisciplinary workshops. Results of this initiative will be shared in this interactive session that highlights the story of Carmel Clay Schools–which illustrates how one midsize employer advanced the implementation of LM to improve the health and well-being of their employees and their community while generating considerable cost savings.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe at least three benefits of implementing Lifestyle as Medicine.
2. Identify at least two internal and external strategies employers can use to promote Lifestyle as Medicine within their organizations.
3. List three guiding principles that organizations can follow to advance the implementation of Lifestyle as Medicine in their organizations.

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened awareness about health equity as a population health strategy, highlighting access inequalities and other health disparities. This session describes how Chevron’s programming, including a peer health educator program, employee resource groups and health social investment partnerships have evolved. Attendees will understand how lessons learned have influenced approaches to providing services to hybrid and remote workforces and supporting communities where Chevron operates. The session will also demonstrate how the Enterprise Health Index (EHI) has provided an overall indicator of organizational health and can be used to highlight opportunity areas for enabling workforce health and encouraging healthy behaviors. Chevron’s evolved approach addresses:
• Access to programming and resources;
• Disabilities as a component of developing resources;
• The built environment and the digital divide;
• Prevention and wellness through culturally relevant whole-person care;
• Data to understand and measure gaps;
• Scaling telehealth innovation to improve care and access without worsening the digital divide;
• Social determinants in targeting interventions; and
• Health promotion connections to safety.
EHI dimensions (ergonomics, fatigue, nutrition, tobacco, well-being, local health risks, organizational commitment to health, and occupational hygiene) have been reported on the company dashboard since 2019. In 2023, annual collection was digitized for standardization and simplification. Health practitioners use the EHI and its visibility on the company dashboard to engage business units in actionable conversations that reflect Chevron’s evolved approach and improve worker health.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how accessible, prevention-focused, culturally and globally relevant programs can address equity issues in a diverse workforce.
2. Describe how equity-focused interventions can support health systems and improve public health outcomes.
3. Describe how past and present pandemics demonstrate the importance of social determinants in population health management in a workplace setting.

A medium-sized employer met with their broker’s RN clinical consultant for an initial meeting. The team’s data analysis uncovered a critical health trend amongst the group’s truck drivers: the drivers suffered with 10x the expected incidence of cardio-metabolic disease, high levels of sleep apnea, and high musculoskeletal risk. Many drivers were not passing their mandatory Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals, and some were dying of cardiac disease years before retirement. Preventive care rates were low, and there was no driver engagement in traditional well-being offerings. Over four years, the client and clinical consultant team engaged both data science and design thinking to design a benefit ecosystem that works. Solutions included a diabetic management benefit that tied Rx cost waivers to adherence to a diabetic health action plan; a wellness coaching solution that promoted healthy lifestyle on the road while concurrently coaching before DOT physicals; and access to virtual acute care, preventive care and mental health care with limited member cost share. To promote vendor awareness of the benefit ecosystem, the team hosted Vendor Summit design sessions. The vendors learned about the chronic illness trends affecting the employees and engaged in conversation about opportunities to work together in support of the members. After the first summit, the wellness coaching doubled from 100-200 drivers; the diabetic participation grew from 1 member to 54; and the virtual care participation jumped 25%.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Connect how a person’s lifestyle on the job can present increased risk for chronic illness - and the employer’s responsibility to mitigate such risk.
2. Conduct a design thinking exercise using an “empathy map” as a step towards human centered benefit design.
3. Lead benefit and incentive planning strategies with a diversity mindset vs. a one-size-fits-all mentality.
4. Recognize the intrinsic and extrinsic values of gathering partners in a vendor summit with the shared goal of serving the same members.

This session will focus on learnings from quantitative survey data and qualitative participant feedback collected during a 6500-person pilot of a global mental well-being program (GMWP) in 2022-2023. Mental well-being survey data was collected from employees covering the three program pillars of the GMWP -- Promote, Protect and Access -- with an average response rate across teams of 65%. Structured qualitative feedback was collected from both health and business staff involved in program delivery across enrollment, survey, and program delivery aspects of the pilot. From a survey perspective, this session will focus on linking aggregated employee survey results to suggested actions and toolkits for delivery partners in our pilot teams. We will also consider survey and program accessibility for front-line, remote and global staff. Through qualitative findings, we will discuss both the strengths and limitations of amplifying limited central health staff through business partnering.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Define key learnings in mental health surveying across diverse employee types.
2. Identify the potential benefits of using employee survey data to inform mental health program delivery content.
3. Define the potential benefits from gathering periodic qualitative feedback from participants involved in mental health program delivery for continuous improvement.

With an increasing workload and limited time with patients, at times providers are forced to take a reactive approach to addressing patients’ symptoms and prevalent chronic conditions. Coupled with an ongoing national mental health crisis and a non-regimented health routine, employees, and patients, suffering from years of social isolation and loneliness, need supportive communities and tools that facilitate a healthy lifestyle at home. Join Dr. Kaleigh France as she shares her community-driven approach that connects employers, their employees, hospitals and even health plan members to a digital community with a built-in support system addressing social isolation head on. Discover how she takes a proactive approach to healthy living by prescribing more “activities” and less medication and how social support elements increase user engagement by 2.5 times.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how patients, members and employees can gain access to digital content that meets and supports them wherever they are on their wellness journey.
2. Prioritize authentic connections to create flourishing communities (yes, even digitally) that drive meaningful engagement.
3. Equip healthcare workers with tools to take proactive and preventative care approaches that drive favorable outcomes.

The success of workplace health promotion efforts requires effective implementation of practices that are based on good science. To improve the protection of workers’ health, the promotion of their well-being, and the provision of access to high-quality resources and services, we need to strengthen efforts to translate research into practice in real-world settings, communicate it effectively to employers, and equip practitioners to use it to inform their work. This fast-paced, highly interactive panel session will explore the challenge of balancing the need for rigor with practical demands and limitations, reliance on scientific evidence with the desire for innovation, and the academic views of occupational and public health with the market-driven approaches of the fitness and lifestyle industries. Topics will include strategies for translating and communicating research; tips and tactics to help practitioners make solid, evidence-based decisions that drive results; and opportunities for scientists, practitioners, and employers to work together for the greatest impact.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. List criteria for evaluating scientific claims.
2. Identify red flags that may indicate bias or questionable validity.
3. Describe strategies for accurately communicating scientific information to non-academic audiences.

As talent, skills, and technology needs accelerate the necessity for workforce resilience, Aon’s 2022 Global Wellbeing Survey revealed that employers are focused on well-being now more than ever. Eighty percent said well-being is fully or slightly integrated into their overall business and talent strategy. In addition, 43% of organizations have increased their investment in well-being. Aon explored the role of well-being in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. Since ESG takes place at a population, corporation, or even a global level, individuals may feel disconnected or receive little direct impact from these strategies. Forty-nine percent of organizations globally either comprehensively or moderately incorporate well-being into ESG. Globally, the ESG principle most impacted and influenced by well-being is Social. Aon has implemented social tactics for its own colleagues to help their people feel more valued as well as connected to their ESG focus. United in Kindness and United in Gratitude, two campaigns which asked colleagues to practice mindful appreciation with expressions, messages, and acknowledgements of thankfulness, were created to ultimately make gratitude and kindness an ongoing attitude within the culture of the organization. These social campaigns have positive impact and have won global, prestigious awards. Aon will share what it has implemented for its employees. Then, the presenters will use design thinking in partnership with the audience to create actionable solutions that focus on ESG + Well-being.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Articulate why well-being is increasing as a priority.
2. Explain the intersection between ESG and well-being.
3. Describe 2 specific social campaigns to address employee well-being needs while aligning with an overarching ESG strategy.

Spirituality has long been a dimension in a holistic approach to well-being, but employers have traditionally been reluctant to address it. Higher education organizations tend to lead the way when it comes to implementing evidence-based best practices in workplace and student well-being, including the incorporation of spiritual well-being. This interactive session explores how large state universities have integrated spiritual well-being as part of their holistic and comprehensive approach to well-being. Special attention will be paid to how offerings have been adapted to support an increasingly virtual and hybrid workforce across a dispersed organization.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify potential programs, services, and resources to support spiritual well-being for a diverse workforce.
2. Identify potential measures that assess spiritual well-being needs and demonstrate program impact and value.
3. Identify ways to adapt spiritual well-being supports to meet diverse population and business needs.

WorkLife Partnership is committed to modeling job quality best practices inside its own workplace and with the businesses it serves with its Workplace Resource Navigation programming. Despite its modest size–35 full-time employees–WorkLife has made pay and benefits for its own workforce an organizational priority, in turn securing not only robust employee retention but also providing opportunities for employees to thrive and grow with the organization as it scales its work nationally. This session will establish a foundational understanding of how financial wellness fits into the social determinants of health and examine the many facets of financial well-being. The introduction will include a combination of national and WorkLife’s data to demonstrate financial vulnerability among specific worker populations including Black, Latinx, and female workers. Using WorkLife’s experience as a small employer, the session will demonstrate how small and medium-sized businesses can launch and sustain programs that address the various factors that influence an individual’s financial well-being. Sunny Day Fund–an employer matched savings program–will speak to the current political, social and business pressures that make it more important than ever for businesses to embrace a more holistic approach to employee financial well-being.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the role economic stability and mobility play in health equity and social determinants of health.
2. Navigate current policy, social and business pressures to support present and future financial well-being of their workforces.
3. Evaluate economic mobility disparities by gender, race and other demographics among low- and moderate-wage employees and learn at least 5 impactful ways to address these disparities via financial wellness offerings.

The average American, over the course of their lifetime, will spend one-third of their life at work. The recent pandemic has highlighted the corporate responsibility and essential need for a comprehensive well-being strategy to meaningfully impact and protect the health of employees and the communities they live in. While many models focus primarily on physical health, Blue Zones creates work and community environments that make the healthier choice the easier choice and initiatives that prioritize a connection to purpose, mental health, and positive relationships for optimal performance and organizational success. This session will provide a brief overview of the importance of environment and policy, as well as Blue Zones evidence-based approach and how it has improved the work environments, engagement, and employee well-being. The session will also share a case study of Adventist Health and their approach to applying Blue Zones best practices at a system level and customizing the approach across 23 healthcare campuses. Attend this session to obtain practical strategies and tips for supporting employee well-being and building resilience in your employee population. Participants who attend this session will learn how Blue Zones and Adventist Health are measuring the impact of these environmental interventions and new ways to apply an evidence-based environmental program to improve population health and drive higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the Blue Zones evidence-based approach to worksite well-being and how it is applied for employers/worksites.
2. Implement environment or policy initiatives to help make the healthier choice the easier choice in and around the worksite environment.
3. Apply new ideas on how to customize worksite well-being approaches for multi-site populations.

This session will review the research findings on how to enhance vaccination rates in lower income-earning individuals. “Lower income-earning patients have poorer health care experience in all aspects of access and quality of care.” The reduced access is also evident concerning vaccination rates. Given the lagging vaccination rates among lower-income households, expanding low-income communities’ access to immunization services is essential for achieving the public policy goal of expanding low-income communities’ access to health care. This session will present the full results of the study and the steps needed to increase immunization rates.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the types of barriers that exist for low-income persons to receiving vaccinations.
2. Recognize and understand the value of pharmacists as part of a person’s healthcare team.
3. Identify the need for increased access to vaccines through pharmacists.

Just because wellness programs and employee benefits are offered equally to everyone, doesn't mean they impact everyone EQUITABLY. DEI 3.0 asks employers to consider how their wellness and benefit programs reflect their stated DEI strategy (Side bar: I'm willing to bet you that they don't reflect them as well as you think!). We’ll explore how employers can improve outcomes for diverse employee cohorts.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Articulate ways to better understand employee’s wants and needs (HINT: Not always from the employees themselves).
2. Recognize the impact of a long-term benefits strategy on recruitment and retention,
3. Execute actionable takeaways today.

CREATION Life is AdventHealth’s whole person philosophy that helps fulfill a plan to live happy and healthy lives. The eight principles of CREATION Life (Choice, Rest, Environment, Activity, Trust, Interpersonal Relationships, Outlook, and Nutrition) can affect the way care is delivered to patients; colleague interactions; and connections with families and friends. Edible Education Experience is one of the many programs offered to team members that supports them in reaching whole person health. The Edible Education Experience algins with four out of the eight principles of CREATION Life -- Choice, Environment, Interpersonal Relationships, and Nutrition. Edible Education Experience aims to promote food literacy, sustainability, and healthy living by providing hands-on learning experiences related to food and agriculture. This 4-week program includes virtual and in-person sessions with experts and professionals, including gardeners, chefs, and registered dieticians, to provide their expertise and knowledge with participants while creating meaningful dialogue around these topics. Their flagship program is the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House & Culinary Garden, which features a teaching kitchen and an organic garden. Edible Education Experience collaborates with local farmers, chefs, and food entrepreneurs to support a thriving local food economy and promote sustainable agriculture. Overall, Edible Education Experience is committed to empowering people with the knowledge and skills to make healthier, more sustainable food choices and create a more equitable food system.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Name the benefits of a program like Edible Education Experience such as improved cooking skills, increased knowledge of nutrition, and increased environmental awareness.
2. Describe the impact of these types of programs through specific examples of success.
3. Identify strategies for implementing an education program, including best practices for program design, and potential challenges to anticipate.

PJM Interconnection (PJM) manages the power grid for 65 million users and supplies energy for 20% of US GDP. In 2021, PJM launched the Flex First program to facilitate hybrid work in response to the pandemic. Like many industries, PJM had a traditional in-person culture before that time where seeing someone at their desk meant that the work was getting done. Now, they seek to build the infrastructure and standards to sustain Flex First in ways that are fair to a range of essential in-person and remote workers. This session will highlight shifts made to elevate well-being by focusing on outcomes-based leadership, belonging, and building a culture to support in-person, hybrid, and remote workers in an equitable manner. To inform their hybrid program, PJM collects metrics regularly from individuals and leaders using surveys and facilitated discussions. They monitor adoption and gather ideas for continuous improvement. Conversations are designed to gather concerns, to identify possible solutions for supporting well-being, and to discover formats for virtual or live collaborations. PJM listens and learns through these feedback mechanisms, for example:
• Gathered successes to weave well-being practices into corporate communications;
• Measured program design around flexibility to inform PJM's hybrid work evolution; and
• Collected occupancy projections to define resources for in-person and remote workers.
PJM wants to anticipate and proactively address known issues with remote work such as longer hours, sedentary stretches, and isolation. They are cultivating a workplace where employee well-being is a key focus for overall company success.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Develop mechanisms to gather input and learn from their workforce to improve their hybrid programs.
2. Consider alternative ways that support hybrid workplaces with creative and practical solutions.
3. Integrate components of well-being into their workplaces and engender a feeling of fairness across teams, regardless of each employee’s personal work location.

This session will highlight the business benefits of operating as a Benefits Corporation (B-Corp) and discuss measurement and reporting processes. Founded in 2016, Synchronous Health’s goal has been to improve the lives of the people they serve, be the best place for their associates to do their best work, and to generate value for shareholders. However, value extends beyond financial gains, which is why becoming a B-Corp was an obvious choice: to declare public benefit and demonstrate positive impact. As a telehealth company, Synchronous Health adopted a remote-first culture before the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid expansion led to doubling the workforce annually across 32 states and 3 countries. However, this growth brought challenges that emphasized the need for a comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI+B) strategy. This session will discuss the indicators that prompted reassessment of the organizational culture and revamp the DEI+B approach. The Synchronous Health story will emphasize the key metrics that drive decision-making as they continue to iterate and improve the DEI+B program. Their goal remains that all associates feel valued, supported, seen, understood, and empowered. It aligns with their mission of achieving the best of what it is to be human, thus creating a kinder world.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the significance of a Benefits Corporation (B-Corp) structure in promoting social impacts alongside financial growth.
2. Explore the key areas measured in the B-Impact assessment process and their role in maintaining focus on social commitments.
3. Recognize the challenges and opportunities associated with fostering inclusivity, diversity, and addressing unconscious bias within a remote-first organizational culture.
4. Explain the metrics and data-driven approach used to evaluate and improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI+B) strategies.
5. Apply practical guidance for creating a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and belonging culture within organizations.

Health inequities are defined as unfair or unjust disparities in health status between different demographic (racial/ethnic/gender/sexual preference and socioeconomic) subpopulations. They are driven by systemic factors, including socioeconomic disadvantage, implicit bias and medical mistrust. Like other health-related services, well-being program providers – whether vendors or employers - may also be unknowingly contributing to workforce health inequities. This session will discuss previous worksite-based well-being program research, revisited through the lens of health equity. Presenters will provide a historical perspective regarding health equity in health promotion and well-being offerings, with insight into factors influencing perceived value of programs by employees, their participation rates, and associated program outcomes. Notably, the role of incentives will be discussed in the context of promoting participation rates and enhancing outcomes. With this as background, the presenters will share an enhanced model to ensure more inclusive well-being program participation and outcomes, with the goal of mitigating existing health disparities. Measurement approaches to operationalizing a data-driven approach to well-being will be presented, along with considerations for use of metrics to quantify the business value of proposed interventions. When equitably implemented, well-being offerings can yield demonstrable value for a greater proportion of employees and their family members – and that, in turn, can create greater business value for employers and vendors.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Define and explain the various system-based reasons for health inequities in health promotion and well-being programs.
2. Define and compile measures for quantifying the extent of health equity in their health promotion and well-being programs.
3. Review their existing well-being programs and identify and implement steps to mitigate observed inequities.

Fully remote and hybrid work arrangements are here to stay. The share of new job postings that advertise remote work has risen dramatically since 2020. Moreover, survey research shows that the majority of employees in remote-capable jobs prefer hybrid or fully remote work over fully onsite work. Despite a large body of research on the outcomes associated with remote work, relatively less attention has been directed toward understanding how remote work relates to employee physical and psychological health and well-being. What happens to employee health and well-being when the physical boundary between work and nonwork disappears? What strategies can employees use to effectively detach and recover from work when the home also becomes the workplace? How does remote work relate to health behaviors such as exercise and sleep? This keynote address will focus on the state of the science concerning the threats and the opportunities presented by remote work for employee health and well-being. Recommendations for practice will also be provided.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the overall benefits and challenges associated with remote work.
2. Explain the connection between remote work and employee well-being.
3. List best practices for enhancing the well-being of remote workers.

The C. Everett Koop National Health Awards recognize outstanding worksite health promotion and improvement programs. This keynote session spotlights the organizations recognized by The Health Project as having implemented best practice programs resulting in demonstrated outcomes related to participation, health, and financial cost impact. Winners of this prestigious award will share their stories, answering the questions: what was done; did it work; and was it worth it. Learn what it takes for an application to meet the requirements of an award-winning initiative.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify strategies used by award-winning companies to improve population health by helping individuals change unhealthy behaviors and reducing health risks.
2. Describe what works to establish a culture of health at the workplace and/or in the community.
3. Recognize the characteristics of health and well-being programs that offer good value for the money spent investing in these programs.

As best practices in population health and well-being evolve, so does our awareness of the impact of business practices and policies on the workforce and our communities and environments more broadly. In this session, we will discuss how businesses implementing workforce health and well-being best practices are also positioned to positively impact environmental, social, and governance issues. Presenters will provide an overview of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) model and describe where well-being industry professionals can play critical roles. Specific examples will be drawn from recent work and publications from the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) Healthy Workplaces Healthy Communities Committee and Workforce Mental Health and Well-being Committee, as well as real-world examples from the City and County of Denver, Colorado. In addition, opportunities to align initiatives with corporate social responsibility efforts will be woven throughout. Participants will collaborate to map out areas of synergy and opportunity between workforce mental health and well-being, DEI-informed best practices, and key ESG outcomes based on their own experience and expertise.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe three opportunities for health and well-being industry professionals to inform the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) model.
2. Identify specific actions businesses can take to advance health equity through DEI informed policies and practices.
3. Apply current workforce mental health and well-being best practices and identify trusted guidance and resources.

Firefighters, and other first responders, are more likely to die by suicide and have an elevated risk of mental health issues. Their work environment, personal stress, and the shame and stigma associated with being perceived as weak or unfit for duty if they seek counseling are all contributing factors. Additionally, 95% of the 20,000 firefighters dispersed across Minnesota are volunteer/part-time, and previously did not have access to behavioral health benefits that are traditionally reserved for full-time employees. This panel discussion will present best practice approaches to creating a comprehensive emotional well-being solution that can be tailored to fit an organization’s unique needs, and the needs of their employees, thus reducing the stigma and barriers to behavioral health support. Organizations can create flexible programs and options that offer employees and their families/household members the resources for everyday life. Recommendations include curating a network of counselors with experience with the dispersed workforce concerns and challenges, promoting behavioral health services to employees and their families, improving emotional well-being through training and peer support, and delivering ongoing educating to network counselors. These types of best practices have resulted in over 1,000 counseling visits with this specialized network of 853 counselors in the last year. Of those visits, 83% were male, 53% were 50-55, 79% lived in small/rural areas, 18% were for PTSD, and 39% completed all five, free sessions. The demographics were significantly higher than Optum’s employer book of business. These best practices can be expanded and tailored to other industries’ dispersed employees, such as school districts, manufacturing, banking, healthcare, airlines, municipalities, and others.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Implement 5 communication methods without addresses to a dispersed workforce: onsite promotions, marketing to fire departments, social media, events, and other unique ideas (e.g. letters to community newspapers and city managers).
2. Recruit counselors with specific experience, training, qualifications, and understanding of small/rural location to join a specialized network for firefighters/first responders and provide ongoing training and support with a provider advocate.
3. Reduce barriers to and stigma around behavioral health care for dispersed workforce/first responders through peer support network development, and educational trainings to firefighters and behavioral health providers.

A growing number of small and midsize organizations want to support employee well-being, but are challenged in 1) finding affordable ways to do so that are not a major administrative burden, and 2) measuring the impacts of these efforts to justify their organization’s continued investment. This session will explore how a municipality facing these challenges designed a wellness program that leverages the right resources, incentives, and promotional strategies to create a well-workforce, and how they leverage data to demonstrate the impacts of their program on the overall health of their population.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify opportunities to develop and deploy a successful wellness program with limited resources.
2. Describe how to design a wellness program to engage employees across the spectrum of health.
3. Leverage data to evaluate program impacts on cost, risk, and utilization trends in their population.
4. Apply ongoing program evaluation plans and limitations.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a bright spotlight on workforce mental health. Today, it is common to hear employers voice their commitment to the psychological well-being of workers and to see leaders pledging to make it a priority. New guidelines and standards have also emerged over the last few years, designed to help employers deliver on those promises. Despite the available guidance, challenges remain in translating these resources into practice and tailoring efforts to meet the unique needs of an organization and its workforce. As a result, few employers have a concrete strategy, and implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based workforce mental health efforts still lags far behind physical health and wellness practices in most organizations. This session will provide a brief overview of guidance from the International Organization for Standardization, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office and then focus on practical ways employers can improve their efforts regardless of whether they are just starting out or looking to strengthen a well-established program. By reviewing best practices, hearing case examples from organizations that have achieved success, and discussing how to apply the lessons learned in their own organizations, participants will be better positioned to develop a workforce mental health strategy that gets results.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe key actions that can drive improvement in workforce mental health.
2. List three resources for guidance on mental health at work.
3. Identify next steps for applying best practices in their own organizations.

CNH Industrial, a leading agriculture and construction equipment provider, was facing challenges in finding ways to reduce costs and improve predictability in their health and well-being programs for their 40,000 employees. This session will share how CNH Industrial was able to leverage AI and machine learning to gain a deep understanding of the healthcare utilization behaviors of their population, then focus investment and engagement efforts where it matters most. CNH Industrial achieved annual cost savings of $1.7M through this innovative approach.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe key actions that can drive improvement in workforce mental health.
2. List three resources for guidance on mental health at work.
3. Identify next steps for applying best practices in their own organizations.

There is a growing movement in the investment community to consider organizational variables not counted as indicators of business success. ESG metrics have gained prominence over the past two decades largely because a subset of investors insist that companies behave in socially responsible ways that supersede self-interest. This session will explore whether the ESG movement has merit or may undermine efforts to improve employee health and well-being initiatives as well as those directed at community health. A key to the potential success of the ESG movement is finding common ground in defining the “S” or identifying alternative metrics most businesses would embrace. Why not focus on and measure the health and well-being of workers alongside public health efforts to entice investment in community health? We will report on ongoing efforts to establish public-private partnerships, “business case” language supporting such collaboratives, the “asks” of businesses, and establishing accountability dashboards. This session is a “How-To Guide” for business and public health leaders wishing to engage in shared value initiatives and do so by avoiding politically combative language. While corporate health and well-being initiatives, directed internally at employees or externally at communities, may be implicit in an ESG framework, it is not explicit. By focusing on health metrics, businesses can emphasize the importance of human capital as a major contributor to business success.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Gain a full understanding of the rationale for ESG metrics along with the controversies surrounding those measures.
2. Recognize ways in which business and public health leaders can work collaboratively to ensure business and public health improvements.
3. Explain alternative metrics to those now included in ESG formulations – particularly those focused on employee and community health.

Recruitment. Retention. Burnout. All are lingering effects of the pandemic. A March 2022 well-being survey of all Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) employees identified several specific needs: employees wanted more support around time management, stress management, emotional health, and sleep. MNPS partnered with Vanderbilt University Medical Center to design a comprehensive, accessible health care solution: Vanderbilt Total Health (VTH). Providing a single clinical point of access through a nurse navigator, along with a licensed clinical social worker and a chaplain, VTH is a mind-body-spirit approach that offers employees high-touch care, triaged to the appropriate level, whether in-person or telehealth primary care/urgent care, mental health care, community resources or spiritual guidance. This approach better supports MNPS’s workforce in the areas of social determinants of health and spiritual health, and provides convenience and accessibility for busy teachers, many of whom also juggle family responsibilities. It also broadens the continuum of care to build upon a patient-centered medical home model already in place by adding more services made available through telehealth, in-home care, and even palliative care options. This new value-based care delivery platform is based on more than 10 years of population health learnings. It strives to improve patient and provider experience, increase quality measures, and decrease unnecessary care to drive better plan performance.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain how increasing mental health needs and SDoH factors affect overall health and employee retention, and new approaches to remove barriers to care and increase access to care.
2. Explore how perceived lack of organizational support can exacerbate stressors, increase workforce burnout, and fuel voluntary termination.
3. Demonstrate the value and impact of incorporating other disciplines in care models for a diverse population, such as a licensed clinical social worker, an RN navigator, chaplains and community resources.

Employers receive disparate reports from their vendor partners. Many data informatic organizations partner with companies to integrate these separate feeds into a comprehensive data warehouse. How should this information be organized to generate actionable information that leads to tangible results? This session will provide insight from companies that have focused on getting the most out of the information available. It starts with establishing good metrics against goals or benchmarks in the pursuit of best practice. These metrics are structured around the Triple Aim of effectiveness, efficiency and experience. Additionally, they will be balanced across the population health continuum and the components of well-being. When possible, these same metrics can assess performance at the worksite level, the department or business level and the enterprise level through scorecards, dashboards and cockpits. This session will highlight the importance of measuring participation, engagement, medical cost trend, disease prevalence, aggregate risk and illness burden, disability, workplace injury and satisfaction among other topics to provide a comprehensive view of a company's culture of health, safety and well-being. The session will feature how these metrics lead to action and demonstrated improvement over time.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize a good metric from a less-than-good metric.
2. Structure a scorecard leveraging the Triple Aim.
3. Explain the differences between, and the important connection of, scorecards, dashboards and cockpits.

The caregiving discussion in the workplace has mostly been focused on working parents and children. However, with an aging population and an aging workforce across the U.S. and in many countries around the globe, there are increasing costs to employers around this often-ignored segment of the workforce. COVID data has also shown that employee caregiving for aging adults disproportionately impacts women and people from diverse backgrounds. Currently working caregivers caring for aging adults is costing employers $50 billion annually in the U.S., and that number will only grow over the next 10 years. This session will share data around the number of working caregivers in the U.S. workforce and globally and what that is projected to be. Attendees will get information on ways to measure the impact of caregiving for aging adults in their workforce and a clear understanding of how this issue is impacting both gender equity and DE&I initiatives. There will also be a strong focus on the financial well-being piece of caregiving for aging adults. Examples will include caregivers who start to tap into their own retirement savings, burnout rates for working caregivers, and the overall financial impact for caregivers who prematurely leave the workforce to care for aging adults. For working women, the long-term impact may mean that they will never have financial stability and could spend senior years in poverty.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the rising cost impact related to employees who are caring for aging adults.
2. Recognize and act on the intersection of working caregivers, gender equity and DE&I initiatives.
3. Adjust financial well-being programs and initiatives to better support working caregivers caring for aging adults, particularly for women in the workplace.

Employers are expected to and can act to prioritize health and well-being of their employees. Approximately 1 in 3 investors and employees selected strengthening employee health and well-being as a top priority for CEOs in a recent survey. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the most common health condition confronting U.S. employees, more common than other important health conditions such as diabetes or obesity. Hypertension is a hidden business risk to employers – undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension leads to lost productivity, poor health and well-being, and in turn, higher health care costs. Hypertension is treatable, and employers are an important catalyst for change to promote equitable well-being for their employees and communities. New tools, including a budget impact model, provide employers clear data on how hypertension affects their workforces and the financial consequences of unaddressed health risks.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the hidden business risks (i.e., direct and indirect costs) of hypertension.
2. Describe how the budget impact model is a decision-making tool for controlling and managing hypertension.
3. Take action on controlling and managing hypertension.

In keeping with the long-standing tradition at HERO Forum, we gather some of our profession’s top researchers and practitioners each year to discuss new and ongoing studies that they consider most relevant and responsive to workforce well-being. With the main objective of continuous improvement for our profession, this panel reviews well-executed and influential studies from recent years; explores the strengths and unique contributions of the research; and discusses how these new study findings should be informing your approach to planning, executing, and evaluating your organization’s health and well-being initiatives.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to: 1. Name three recent studies that offer findings that can inform best practices in worksite health promotion.
2. Discuss how a recent study can influence the planning process or strategic direction of a workplace well-being initiative.
3. Explain how recent research findings can inform the evaluation of worksite health promotion initiatives.
4. Describe how recent research can influence policies related to workforce well-being.

One of the greatest opportunities for the health promotion profession is addressing the economic, environmental, and social determinants of health at the source: by creating healthy living and workspaces. These gains, in turn, would have a positive and measurable effect on the health of the local community, making sustainability-focused businesses even greater stewards of population health. While most businesses understand and recognize the importance of promoting and protecting the health and safety of their employees and environmental practices for a healthy planet, few have taken steps to align business priorities with ESG goals. It can be tough to make workable connections between employee well-being, sustainability goals and the day-to-day challenges of doing business. But through unique lens of the intersectionality of the health of our natural environment with the health of human environments, four organizations are elevating the importance of this connection through conversations, collaboration and commitment to a thriving, sustainable future. This panel discussion will demonstrate how each of these unique organizations and programs are individually and collectively leading South Carolina through unprecedented changes in human and natural communities, creating a robust cross-boundary stakeholder network of state leaders with the knowledge, skills, and desire to collaborate and support each other in identifying pathways, and executing solutions for a sustainable, health-promoting future for all.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify benefits and challenges of integrating health and environmental strategies, and what it looks like for a company to integrate health and environmental strategies.
2. Recognize leadership attributes of companies that are making the connection between health and the environment.
3. Describe the importance of collaboration and how practitioners can be effective participants in and organizers of collaborations designed to help companies create both a healthier planet and healthier people.

The HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer© (HERO Scorecard) and the NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ) enable organizations to obtain both organizational and employee perspectives on their health and well-being initiatives. The HERO Scorecard is a free educational and benchmarking tool designed to help employers evaluate and – by acting on the results – advance their use of best practices in their health and well-being initiatives. The HERO Scorecard continually evolves, and new Best Practice Scores were recently added to evaluate best practices in social determinants of health; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and mental health. The WellBQ was designed to broadly characterize the well-being of workers and inspect specific aspects of worker well-being. HERO has partnered with NIOSH to make the WellBQ easily available on-line and to create the HERO Worker Well-Being Clearinghouse, a database of de-identified individual responses that will be available to participating organizations and researchers. This session will describe how the data obtained from these evidence-based assessments can be used and combined to inform strategic planning for and prioritization of opportunities to implement health and well-being best practices within organizations, as well as to monitor progress over time.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe best practices for taking the HERO Health & Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer© (HERO Scorecard).
2. Interpret their total and section scores, as well as their mental health and well-being, SDOH, and DEI best practice scores.
3. Apply their Scorecard results to identify areas of opportunity for their organizations and best practices to address them.

Nine out of ten employers plan to change health and well-being vendors in 2023 and 2024, yet employers and benefits consultants lack the information and infrastructure to use evidence-based criteria to make these decisions. There is a rising awareness of the urgent need to address burnout, productivity, employee satisfaction, and retention. While most vendors incorporate evidence-based information into their solutions, this information is not readily accessible to purchasers of health and well-being programs. As such, this project aimed to develop a new approach to making the evidence-based choice the preferred choice with health and well-being subject matter experts who learned and practiced Experience-Based Co-Design methods and tools. Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) is an approach that enables users to collaboratively design products, processes, services, and experiences, together in partnership with the people they serve. EBCD is extremely useful in tackling “wicked problems” by understanding human needs, re-framing the problem in human-centric ways, generating ideas and adopting a hands-on approach to prototyping and testing. This session will share the decision-making criteria developed through EBCD and why addressing the social aspects of ESG are foundational. Attendees will participate in activities used in EBCD to learn how lessons from this project apply to their own organizations. This interactive component will illustrate how useful, timely, and approachable EBCD is for working with complex health and well-being challenges to drive solutions.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. List at least two decision-making categories rooted in population health for selecting point solutions.
2. Describe the benefits of using Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) to develop collaborative solutions for complex health and well-being challenges.
3. Demonstrate at least one EBCD technique to use for addressing challenges in workplace health and well-being.

This dynamic panel session will address the core elements of health equity -- health disparities, health literacy, social determinants of health and personal determinants of health -- with a focus on next generation health literacy deemed health literacy 2.0. Health literacy 2.0 is based on elements of behavioral science using gamification, data for personalization and analytics, and interactive multimedia content to address diverse learning needs and preferences. Hear from panelists from both the community and employer settings about how they see health literacy as foundational to better health, better business, and serving the greater good.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain how health literacy 2.0 employs gamification, data personalization, and interactive multimedia content to address diverse learning needs and preferences based on behavioral science principles.
2. Identify and describe the core elements of health equity, including health disparities, health literacy, social determinants of health, and personal determinants of health.
3. Identify specific actions to improve health literacy and contribute to advancing health equity.
4. Describe the societal and economic impact of increased personal engagement in health and improved health literacy.

The increased focus on social impact and sustainability has led to a significant emphasis on being good corporate citizens. Managing the consequences of these rapidly changing business and social environments requires navigating challenges including incomplete data, contradictory opinions, and conflicting priorities. At the same time, growing economic inequities, expanding mental health needs, and intensifying climate hazards are colliding with ongoing cost and talent pressures. As we engage with new and existing stakeholders including investors, regulators, employees, and communities to tackle these issues, there are a variety of ways to reaffirm the links between health and sustainability. This panel brings the Forum23 theme home with concrete examples from three employers that are successfully ensuring that health and well-being is at the table and part of their broader efforts to address societal challenges. Panelists will discuss how health is being integrated in the frameworks they use, how they set goals, measure progress, and report results, and strategies for moving beyond static silos to connect and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to improve health.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe examples of how leading organizations include health and well-being in their social impact frameworks.
2. Explain best practices in social impact measurement and reporting.
3. Discuss strategies for breaking down silos and promoting stakeholder collaboration to improve health.

Forum23 has provided an opportunity to explore the positive trends in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement, as well as highlighting some of the challenges. After a week of exploration, networking, and engaging discussions, this closing session will reflect on key themes and shared experiences from the Forum including highlights from a variety of sessions. High-level learnings of how workforce health and well-being aligns with organizational efforts to address broad social issues will be discussed. What are your key takeaways and the implications as we move forward?

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explore how the ESG movement can be aligned with workforce health and well-being efforts to increase shared value.
2. Discuss the positive trends and challenges with the ESG movement and how these may affect our work in workforce health and well-being.
3. Summarize how experiences at Forum23 will impact work moving forward.

Feelings of belonging have been linked to increased performance, improved self-confidence, and reduced levels of depression, yet 25% of employees feel like they don’t belong at work. This is troubling considering the average person spends one-third of their life at work. For employers who want to enhance those feelings of belonging, creating a compassionate work culture may provide an unexpected pathway. The latest neuroscience suggests that mindfulness, compassion and generosity can rewire our brains and bodies for resilience while also impacting those around us. These positive attributes are contagious, and have a boomerang effect that leads to enhanced mood, performance, and even creativity. In fact, research has shown that witnessing a single act of generosity can inspire at least three additional acts of compassion. Put simply, when we do good, we feel good, and we help others feel better. Conversely, when we are overwhelmed by stress, we are less able to feel compassion, which likewise may spread to those around us. This session will break down the science behind how positive behavior impacts individuals and groups. Dr. Willard will also discuss how employers who encourage kindness and compassion in the workplace can foster feelings of community and belonging that contribute to improved employee well-being and performance.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the impact of positive psychology, including kindness and compassion, on performance and well-being for individuals and the broader workplace community.
2. Identify ways to integrate and encourage simple behaviors such as kindness and compassion in the workforce.
3. Explain the neuroscience and behavioral science of how the power of belonging can influence culture, productivity and well-being outcomes.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a large academic medical center, consisting of six hospitals with approximately 30,000 employees. VUMC Health and Wellness has three departments (Occupational Health, Work/Life Connections-EAP, and Health Plus) that engage employees with innovative programs to maximize productivity and well-being. The Health Plus program delivers programs that advance healthy lifestyle practices by helping employees establish foundations of well-being through our Koop award-winning health incentive program, lifestyle coaching and skill-building programs. As a result of recent geographic growth, Health Plus recently pivoted its program delivery to reach employees regardless of work location through on-site, pre-recorded and virtual programming. This session will provide an overview of how Health Plus promotes health in a diverse workforce, discuss strategies for seamlessly adapting programs to engage the remote workforce, and learn strategies to provide high level engagement programs to their workforce. This discussion can provide a starting point for successful development or translation of programs within a rapidly changing workforce.
The following programs will be highlighted:
1. Go for the Gold Health Incentive Program.
2. Skill-building programs to foster healthy habits such as healthy eating, engaging in physical activity, and a mindful approach to managing stress.
3. Risk reduction programs such as lifestyle coaching, diabetes prevention, and hypertension management.
4. Wellness Commodores as wellness champions at the department level.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe operational framework components that can be tailored for development of effective health promotion and protective programming for a worksite setting.
2. Describe strategies and tools used to aid in design, delivery, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion and protection programs for a worksite population.
3. Conduct effective marketing strategies to promote health promotion programs in an employee workforce with varying and dispersed work environments.

Great wellness program ideas can turn into logistical challenges when attempting to manage the details. Leveraging workflow technology automation can increase wellness program engagement, decrease hands-on administration and promote positive behavior change to support employees on their journey to improve and sustain overall well-being. It’s time to activate your wellness programming with simple automations.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify basic automation tools and techniques and how they can save time in program administration.
2. Explore current working models of automation as part of a corporate wellness program.
3. Discover how automation can support positive behavior change in any dimension of wellness.

The hidden conditions your employees suffer from – such as stress and burnout – are likely caused by more than just work issues. These conditions are often left undetected and unaddressed when utilizing traditional wellness programs that are measured by only medical and Rx variables. Learn how to create an end-to-end cultural and clinical solution designed for all employees to thrive. This session will cover how to build a simplified and seamless experience that brings together advanced clinical analytics with well-being activities, targeted communications and personalized clinical programs. Learn how to use a blended clinical and cultural strategy to achieve greater ROI and drive down healthcare costs and increase productivity, engagement and retention.

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify high-risk populations by leveraging benefits claims data effectively.
2. Recognize the value of reaching employees where they are with personalized well-being resources and recommendations.
3. Apply best practices to achieve lower health care spend and improve business and people performance.