Start with the women within your program
Maxine Brinkman, RN, MHA, director of women's services for North Iowa Mercy Health Network in Mason City and immediate past president of the Chicago-based National Association of Professionals in Women's Health, found an unusual way to convince her facility's administrators about the impact women have on the health care system.
North Iowa Mercy Health Network is one of the nation's top 10 integrated delivery systems (IDS), according to Hospitals and Health Networks. The IDS includes 14 hospitals and 14 primary care clinics within a 75,000 square mile area.
As at other hospital systems and networks, North Iowa administrators examined disease-specific incidence data for their market area. They took the market area data and applied it to the female employees at the hospital. They analyzed what it cost the self-insured IDS out of its own pocket to cover health care expenses for conditions such as breast cancer. In addition, they distributed a written survey through the internal mail system to a random sampling of male and female employees and discovered serious wellness-related issues. For example, 19% of females reported domestic abuse and 40% indicated they had trouble sleeping at night.
This information was presented at an administrative board meeting. "The administrators were astounded," says Brinkman. "They realized very quickly that if they didn't do something about early intervention, it was going to cost us." An employee wellness program was implemented with a focus on behavioral health issues, such as body image, stress, and depression. "We are the largest employers of women in our area," Brinkman says. "What we do for others, we should do for ourselves."
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