The City of Virginia Beach and Virginia Beach City Public Schools had long employed various tactics to promote employee wellness. For years the city and schools developed and implemented a variety of wellness programs to meet the needs of their population.
In Spring of 2013, the city and schools decided to integrate their wellness program with their benefit plan design by offering a reduced premium to those who participated in a biometric screening and health coaching. While the program caused a surge in participation in wellness programs offered by the city and schools; the self-reporting programs and an uninspiring health coaching option weren’t resonating with the city and school’s employee population. And, data was challenging to compile; especially as departments sought statistics for accreditation.