GREEN BAY, WIS. – The benefits of participation in the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative go beyond rate caps and improved health and well-being. Just ask Lynn Walschinski, operations manager at Liberty Title in Green Bay, the winner of the Vitality Silver-Bowl promotion offered through Destiny Health’s wellness program, the Vitality Program. Walschinski recently won tickets to the Super Bowl in Phoenix, airfare and hotel – a package valued at $8,000.
"When I received the call that I had won, all I could do was sit there and say, ‘What?"" said Walschinski. "I must have told Greg [Berth, the sales manager for Destiny Health in Wisconsin] to shut up about three times on the phone!"
All participants in the Destiny Health Empowerment Plan offered by the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative (HLC) of Brown County and the Chambers of Commerce in Stevens Point and Wausau were eligible to be entered in the series of drawings for football tickets. Participants received one entry for every Vitality Buck they earned once they achieved Silver Vitality Status in the plan. Members of the HLC earn Vitality Bucks every time they participate in a fitness activity, take eligible classes such as first aid, complete a preventative screening or participate in eligible activities that promote health and wellness. Participants can redeem the Vitality Bucks for name-brand merchandise, frequent flier miles, music downloads, etc. Walschinski earned many of hers by working out at the YMCA, walking and taking both a first-aid and CPR class held through her employer.
Walschinski flies out for the football vacation of a lifetime on Friday Feb. 1, and returns on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Within days of receiving the news in December, she had received no fewer than four marriage proposals from diehard football fans looking for a guaranteed ticket to the Super Bowl. "I’m taking my sister and making this my vacation of the year," said Walschinski.
Walschinski follows in the footsteps of other Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative participants who won tickets through the Vitality Silver-Bowl promotion that kicked off in July – Kelsie Czukas, Industrial Protective Coatings, won two tickets to a Green Bay Packers/Detroit Lions game, Brock O’Leary, Independent Printing, won two tickets to a Green Bay Packers/Minnesota Viking game and Shelley DeVillers, Independent Printing, won two tickets to a Green Bay Packers/Chicago Bears game.
"Vitality is the only wellness program we know of that makes it possible for a member to receive rewards that more than pay for the costs of their insurance plan," said Berth. "Members of the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative have been really receptive to the program as their philosophy on a healthy lifestyle is well aligned with ours. As a result, we have more than half the members in active participation in the program which, for a group of the HLC Cooperative’s size, is really quite an impressive achievement."
In 2007, more than 58 percent of Co-op member employees earned Silver Vitality Status, which qualified member companies for an average of only an eight percent rate cap in 2008. "In my experience, it’s very difficult to motivate people to participate in health and wellness programming. The Vitality Program has eliminated many of the barriers people typically experience by offering something for everyone, regardless of health status and providing very real and significant rewards for participation," said Sherry Freeman, Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative education coordinator. "We are excited at the change we’re seeing in employers and their employees and look forward to the cost savings that will be achieved with a healthier workforce."
"The success of the first group of insured employers has been fantastic," added Randy Connour, executive director of the HLC. "A new group will be formed soon so we can continue to spread these successes to more business owners in the Brown County area."
The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative, a health insurance buying cooperative formed under Wisconsin’s Coop Care law,
currently has 175 member companies with nearly 3,800 insured lives. It was formed in response to rising health insurance costs that were affecting small companies’ ability to thrive. Small group protection laws and the need for substantial reserves prevented pooling until the Wisconsin legislature enacted the Coop Care law permitting the formation of cooperatives that pool together to contract with insurance carriers.
For more information, contact Sherry Freeman at (920) 593-3416, sfreeman@healthylifestylescoop.org.
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