Early on in the pandemic's spread, doctors noticed that people with pre-existing medical conditions were among the worst affected. The more we learn about coronavirus, the more we see a connection between chronic illness and the added risk of developing complications from the virus. 

New data from the Wall Street Journal shows how much these different factors increase the likelihood of dying from COVID-19. 

The more risk factors someone has, the higher their chance of dying and/or having complications from COVID-19. Simply being “slightly obese” may not seem very dangerous. However, if you’re slightly obese and also a black male suffering from respiratory disease, your chances of dying and/or having complications from COVID-19 increase greatly.

While some factors such as race, gender and respiratory disease are out of our control, many of the factors are modifiable and can be managed with the right support, education and resources. The good news is, knowing the specific health factors that drive someone’s risk allows us to target the people suffering from those conditions and help them get their conditions under control.

First and foremost, your employees need to be in tune with their health and understand their modifiable risks.

While performing a biometric screening and blood draw is the first step in gathering information about your health, what employees really need is an action plan that leads to successful results.

Using a screening tool that provides predictive modeling can highlight an employee’s risk of developing chronic disease. For example, a Personal Health Summary not only helps employees understand what their overall health looks like today, but what it could look like later on down the road.

The Personal Health Summary helps employees recognize how their current behaviors can affect their long-term health. This not only bring awareness to these behaviors, but it can be empowering for employees to realize the modifiable risk factors that are within their control.

During the pandemic, it’s important to pick a wellness partner that understands how to hold a safe and effective onsite screening event. Click here to learn more about the safety measures TargetCare has in place to keep everyone safe and healthy during biometric screenings and personal health assessments.

Not only do biometric screenings help employees stay in tune with their personal health, they help employers understand the overall health of their population.

While it’s important for employees to understand their personal health, it’s just as important for you, the employer, to understand the overall health of your population. Utilize an effective tool that not only assesses your employee’s health on an individual level, but your population’s health on an aggregate level.

Quality aggregate reporting helps you understand both potential health risks and future costs to your company so you can develop an action plan. It will also show year-over-year trends, so you can determine whether your wellness strategy is working or not. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about the health of your population, the better business decisions you can make.

Managing chronic health conditions is important more than ever, but you and your employees don't have to do it on your own. Partner with the right wellness vendor who can not only conduct a safe and effective screening, but provide the individual and aggregate reporting you and your employees need to make better decisions. 

Learn how TargetCare can provide you and your employees with the guidance, support and education you need to navigate the pandemic.