Hartford Business Journal

26 Hartford Business Journal • November 16, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Farmington's WellSpark sees growing demand for corporate wellness programs amid COVID-19 stress By Cara Rosner Special to the Hartford Business Journal W hile the COVID-19 pandem- ic has taken a toll on much of the healthcare industry, a Farmington-based company special- izing in corporate wellness programs is seeing demand for its services grow — so much that it's poised to expand beyond the tri-state area, into the Mid- west and West Coast, early next year. "We're hiring like crazy because we're growing like crazy," said Roberta (Bert) Wachtelhausen, president of WellSpark Health. The company began in 2013 and today has more than 100 clients, she said. WellSpark, which is an affiliate of Farmington health insurer Connecti- Care and part of the Emblem Health family of companies, offers custom- ized corporate wellness programs intended to make workers healthier and help them manage — and reduce their risk of — chronic illnesses. Clients have been drawn to WellSpark's holistic approach to wellness, which takes into account biological, psychological and social- emotional factors that impact indi- viduals' health, Wachtelhausen said. "We have programs that aren't out- of-the-box. Usually the companies that have come to us have already tried the other guys," she said. "When they hear about us and what we're trying to do for the workforce, they say that's what they've been missing." The company's offerings focus on several areas, including health coaching and disease preven- tion, particu- larly related to chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Clients' em- ployees who are enrolled in health coaching receive one-on-one guid- ance and support from someone who assesses their biological, psychological and social-emotional needs and can connect them with additional resources when necessary. "The need for it has really gone up" during CO- VID, Wachtelhau- sen said of the coaching service, which is largely done by phone. Disease prevention programs, which can be conducted on-site at workplaces or virtually, hold partici- pants accountable — in some cases by holding weekly classes, with homework — and outcomes such as weight loss or body mass index (BMI) reductions are measured. WellSpark also has a "Help 364" program geared toward people who have been diagnosed with a chronic disease and need support managing it year-round. The program's name refers to how pa- tients need sup- port beyond the one-day-a-year they see their physicians for annual checkups, Wachtelhausen said. "We really kind of crawl into the culture of the company," she said, adding WellSpark staff take a close look at employees' lifestyles. "We're really tailoring programming to their workforce." The result, she said, is employees feel like their workers genuinely care about them, while employers help en- sure their workforce remains healthy. WellSpark's clients include public- sector employers, unions, colleges and universities, among others. "These are employers who know they have a long-tenured workforce, and investing in them now pays dividends down the road when those employees are still on their payroll," Wachtelhau- sen said. And, in the long run, these types of programs can reduce medical and insurance costs, she added. Workforce stress The company's offerings can benefit not only corporate entities, but non- profits as well, said Rollin Schuster, founder and managing principal of The Shuster Group, a Farmington-based employee brokerage firm with offices in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. TANGO, The Schuster Group's non- profit arm that helps other nonprofits save money and gain efficiency, this year began bringing WellSpark ser- vices to 1,400 nonprofits in 28 states. "We're very happy to be bringing a TANGO version of WellSpark to the nonprofit sector," he said. TANGO's partnership with WellSpark brings preferred pricing for TANGO- member nonprofits and places an emphasis on emotional wellness, particularly amid the pandemic. "We see that there's a lot of stress in the [nonprofit] workforce, and we're addressing that through our work with WellSpark," Schuster said. Members, which include schools, elder-care organizations and others, can choose among various levels of WellSpark engagement. So far, the program has focused largely on mindfulness, emotional wellbeing and stress relief, he added. "So far the interest level has been very, very high," said Schuster, who also plans to bring WellSpark ser- vices to his firm. Though WellSpark is affiliated with ConnectiCare, its services are available to companies regardless of their insurance carrier. While the pandemic has put a stop to much of the company's on-site of- ferings, most of its services continue even in these uncertain times. WellSpark has 60 employees, with plans to grow to 88 by the end of 2021, Wachtelhausen said. Currently, all employees are based in Connecti- cut and are full-time workers. Employees, some of whom work as health coaches and advisors, build long-term relationships with their cli- ents, so the company is committed to hiring full-time workers rather than independent contractors, she noted. "The market has turned toward us [during COVID] and there's a need for our services like never before," Wachtel- hausen said. "There's a need for mental health, there's a need for mindfulness. Someone can take a diabetes preven- tion class on their phone; the demand for that is higher than it's ever been. It's pretty exciting for us." Roberta Wachtelhausen is the president of WellSpark Health. COMPANY PROFILE: WELLSPARK HEALTH PHOTO | HBJ FILE WellSpark Health's headquarters in Farmington. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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