SCHBC program empowers businesses to focus on health

As organizations increasingly recognize the link between employee well-being and overall business success, initiatives geared toward fostering a healthy workplace culture have gained considerable traction. Leading this movement is the South Carolina Healthy Business Challenge (SCHBC), an innovative program designed to empower businesses across the state to prioritize the health and wellness of their employees. By embracing this challenge, companies not only enhance the physical and mental well-being of their workforce but experience benefits ranging from increased productivity and employee satisfaction to reduced absenteeism and health care costs. As MUSC’s director of health promotion, developing this collaborative program and helping it grow from a local initiative to a statewide resource has been one of the most rewarding accomplishments of my career, and I’m honored to share our journey in this special innovation edition of The Catalyst.

In 2011, MUSC joined over 60 other hospitals across the state to begin Working Well, a 3-year South Carolina Hospital Association program funded by The Duke Endowment, which aimed to improve the health and well-being of health care workers in South Carolina. MUSC had been named a Center of Excellence, and I saw a need for worksite well-being resources in the local community and an opportunity to facilitate those connections. I reached out to colleagues with the City of Charleston and Gallagher, and with support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina (BCBSSC), we created the Charleston Healthy Business Challenge, which launched in 2015.

The goal was to offer a collaborative, free program to support businesses and organizations in establishing work environments that support a healthy, thriving workforce. Businesses and organizations of all sizes and sectors were invited to seminar-style luncheons to learn about current worksite well-being topics and trends. In addition to expert speakers, local health-promoting businesses were invited as exhibitors to connect attendees with resources to support their goals. We invited members to share their successes through a member spotlight presentation and provided opportunities for attendees to network and learn from one another.

Since its inception, our leadership team envisioned expanding the program to create greater impact. In early 2022, we renamed the program the South Carolina Business Challenge. At the same time, the Charleston Healthy Business Challenge became the Lowcountry Healthy Business Challenge. Then, the Upstate Healthy Business Challenge launched in June of 2022, followed by the Midlands Healthy Business Challenge in May of 2023. Through the generous support of BCBSSC, our presenting sponsor; Gallagher, our Lowcountry region sponsor; Proactive MD, our Midlands sponsor; and Assured Partners, our Upstate region sponsor, as well as multiple seminar sponsors, SCHBC has been able to offer valuable programming and support to hundreds of South Carolina businesses and organizations at no cost to participants.

Through a strategic partnership with SCHA and BCBSSC, members receive access to the Strategy for Well-being (S4W) assessment and platform, a continuous improvement tool designed to help employers to assess the extent to which they are implementing evidence-based best practices for effective wellness programs and seamlessly take action to address identified gaps with best practice strategies. Businesses are provided a targeted set of recommendations immediately following the submission of the assessment, focusing on specific elements not yet aligned with the evidence. On-demand, evidence-informed resources to catalyze implementation are included with the action plan of recommendations.

In early 2024, our team launched a new program to expand and deepen support to SCHBC members. The South Carolina Healthy Business Challenge Fellowship Program is an innovative initiative designed to enhance the overall well-being of businesses across the state.

This newly established program is currently being offered as a pilot in the Lowcountry at no charge to participants. The exclusive SCHBC fellowship represents a robust interdisciplinary stakeholder network of South Carolina’s business leaders with the knowledge, skills and desire to collaborate and support each other in identifying pathways and executing solutions for workforce well-being initiatives.

Inaugural cohort members include Christy DeLuca, representing the Town of Mount Pleasant; Brooks Wheeler, Mashburn Construction; Carly Duffy, Thorne; Star Ross, Atlas Tech; Kristin Willman, Select Health; and Candy Marlow, Charleston County government. By providing a structured framework, individualized coaching and opportunities for collaboration, the program aims to create a positive ripple effect, ultimately contributing to a healthier and more productive workforce across the state.

What is unique about SCHBC is that the program and leadership structure are focused on public-private partnerships. Support from stakeholders who see the importance of a healthy workforce to promote a healthy economy and healthy state, including elected officials, government agencies, health care leaders, nonprofits and businesses, makes SCHBC a powerful multi-sector initiative. According to Mike Harris, vice president of Major Group Sales at BCBSCC and a SCHBC leadership team member, “There are no quick fixes in this effort. Changing behavior and improving health status is a worthy long-term investment. We hope that our ongoing participation signals the seriousness of our intent to play a role in improving the health of customers and our communities.

”I believe the collective passion across all represented organizations is having a significant impact on the quality of life in South Carolina. Our leaders are committed, our organizations are healthier, and we are changing the norm of the workplace environment in our state to one that embraces a culture of well-being as the new standard operating procedure. By making health a priority at work, we see changes in employees, in their families and in our communities.