Health Plan Is Yielding Rewards, County Says : Fitness: About 600 workers in a Wellness Program are learning to change their lifestyles.

Phil Connell craved sugary sodas and fat-laden foods.

He loved to dine on beef covered with gravy, sip Coke Classic and soak his sugar-coated breakfast cereal in whole milk.

But that was before health advocates for Ventura County encouraged him to change his ways.

With the county’s guidance, the 56-year-old county social worker switched to a healthier, low-fat, low-sugar diet. Within six months, Connell lost 10 pounds and lowered his dangerously high cholesterol level.

Now he feasts on fruit, vegetables, broiled chicken, skim milk and diet soda. Although he sometimes cheats on his diet, Connell says he feels much better.

“I’m more in control of my health,” Connell said. “It changed my life.”

And to top it off, Connell got $300 for his efforts.

Last year, the county spent about $100,000 to run its voluntary Wellness Program, designed to improve the long-term health of the county’s 6,300 employees. An additional $74,000 was rewarded to many of the 600 participants, like Connell, for changing their diets and participating in county-sponsored health seminars.

County officials acknowledge that the money is a lot to spend during a time of budget cuts. And one taxpayer watchdog group has even suggested that the program is frivolous and should be eliminated.

But county officials insist that the Wellness Program--now in its seventh year--is well worth the cost because it has resulted in lower medical expenses and an increase in productivity among participants. In addition, the county recently received a national award for the program.

“Any time you help people with their health, it’s not frivolous,” Supervisor John Flynn said. “It’s just good common sense.”

Jere Robings, executive director of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn., disagreed.

“To take taxpayer money and give it to employees to take a physical is a little absurd,” he said. “I think this is one expense they can cut.”

But county officials say a study by Aetna Life Insurance Co. found that Wellness Program participants have submitted an average of $212 less in claims per year than other employees from 1988 to 1991. And that, in turn, reduces the county’s insurance costs.

A breakdown of the expense categories demonstrated that the greatest savings were in the areas of cardiovascular disease and cancer, the primary focus areas of the Wellness Program, said program coordinator Susan Heller.

The county spent an average of $62 annually in insurance claims for cardiovascular diseases per program participant, about $100 less than employees who were not in the program, she said.

And while an average of $99 was spent in claims for cancer-related illnesses among Wellness Program participants, the county spent about $237 each for other employees, Heller said.

“This is not a frills program,” she said. “While it does improve the quality of life for workers, it also saves money in the long run.

“What we are paying now is going to prevent major catastrophic events later.”

For example, the county--which is self-insured--spent about $700,000 for the care of two premature babies last year, Heller said. Through the Wellness Program’s prenatal care program, she said, the expenditures could have been prevented.

Heller said the cash incentives are the most effective method of luring workers into the program.

She said county employees earn points for attending health seminars, improving diet and exercising. At the end of the year, officials tally the points and issue the incentive checks--which range from $150 to $300.

Sally Molina, a Municipal Court clerk, credits the program with allowing her to quickly detect two cancerous tumors in her breasts.

“I spent a lot of time taking care of my mother; I never spent time taking care of myself,” she said. “I kept putting things off.”

But Molina said she decided to join the Wellness Program and get a mammogram because she was enticed by the cash bonus.

“If it had not been for that, we would not have found (the cancer) at a very early stage,” she said. A doctor removed the tumors in a simple operation and Molina said she is now doing fine.

Open enrollment dates for this year’s sessions will be announced in the spring, after the county works out its budget.

The program’s administrators expect another 600 employees to join the program. Only first-time participants will be given bonuses, officials said.

“We can either take care of our bodies as we go along by having a good lifestyle and watching our cholesterol and weight,” said Kathy Cook, a program administrator, “or we can wait until we get sick and try to fix it. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t fix all that well.”

The program was started in 1985 after a county study showed that 50% of health insurance costs were incurred by employees with “modifiable” or “lifestyle-related” conditions.

Since its beginning, about 5,500 employees have taken part in the health seminars dealing with topics from smoking to prenatal care. In 1990, the Wellness Program was named the best overall program in the public sector at the HealthAction Leadership Award ceremony in New York City.

In 1990, the county also received an achievement award from the National Assn. of Counties.

According to a survey of half of the participants last year, 80% increased their aerobic exercise, 61% lost weight, 82% increased seat-belt use, 51% reduced or quit smoking, 69% reduced their blood pressure, 86% reduced fat intake, 78% reduced sodium intake and 84% increased fiber in their diets.

All county workers are eligible for the program, which takes participants through several steps.

First, county public health officials ask employees about their health and family history. Officials measure body fat, weight and blood pressure. Blood tests are taken to determine cholesterol levels, and mammograms are offered to women.

The results of the tests are placed into a computer, allowing health workers to run a health-and-nutrition risk profile. Cook said all the data is confidential.

At a follow-up counseling session, employees set goals for changing their diets or lifestyles. Employees then enroll in seminars, which they are allowed to take during work hours.

Last year, the program included classes on nutrition, stress management and blood pressure control. The county also offered workshops on dealing with troublesome teen-agers, money and elderly family members. Participants are offered discounts on memberships to health spas throughout the county.

One of the most popular courses last year was the Supermarket Safari workshop. During the seminar, a nutritionist escorted employees to a local market and showed them how to shop for healthy food.

Ida Cervantes, 29, a collection officer for the county Medical Center, said she ate a lot of junk food before she went through the program in 1990. A year and a half later, she said she continues to eat well and exercise. She said she spends her lunch hour walking around the hospital grounds.

“It works my heart, it works off fat. I can really tell the difference,” Cervantes said. “I was always tired before. Now I feel like getting up in the morning.”