Chris Cronin is CEO of MOBE.
Michelle Sanchez-Bickley is Chief Human Resources Officer of Renown Health.
A year into the pandemic, one thing is clear: employers across the country are being challenged to optimize their health and wellness offerings to suit rapidly changing employee needs. Mental health has become an urgent concern for many, and its ripple effect in the workplace is unmistakable.
In April 2021, 32.6 percent of Nevadans reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, loneliness and other mental health concerns. And 23.7 percent of that group disclosed that counseling and therapy was an unmet need for them throughout the pandemic.
The risk is elevated for healthcare workers in particular. A recent survey found that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted their health, with a whopping 82 percent experiencing overall emotional exhaustion. The majority also reported having trouble with sleep (70 percent), physical exhaustion (68 percent) and changes in appetite (57 percent).
It’s an alarming trend, and employers in the healthcare space have a unique responsibility and opportunity to provide better support for their teams’ health. Leadership at Renown Health, the largest local not-for-profit healthcare network in northern Nevada, recognized the issue and found a unique solution.
To better support Renown’s 7,200+ employees – and enable them to care for themselves as well as they care for their patients – Renown joined forces with MOBE, another company with Reno roots, to provide tailored health guidance for each individual, and address the full picture of each participant’s health.
Combining novel data analytics with one-to-one health guidance, MOBE identifies and predicts the health needs of employees and their family members. The company then pairs those individuals with a dedicated, personal MOBE Guide – a health professional with expertise to address health and wellness concerns across nutrition, sleep, movement and happiness.
MOBE Pharmacists are also available to conduct comprehensive medication reviews and provide counsel for participants who may need to reevaluate their medications with their doctor. The end result is universal access to health guidance across Renown’s employees.
In this day and age, businesses are uniquely positioned to support employee health — but navigating the myriad of wellness offerings available can be a daunting and costly endeavor. Leveraging the right technology, alongside a human connection, can assist health organizations in this goal. Taking a whole person approach to wellness is an effective way to address a number of concerns, including mental health issues. In addition, data science can help employers understand which employees are most in need of support — opening the door for the right kind of one-to-one guidance that improves outcomes.