How Kindred Healthcare used personalization to reduce diabetes risk

We’re on a mission to measurably improve well-being in the world. And we can’t help but get excited when we learn of the results our customers are seeing! Read on to learn about how Kindred Healthcare is improving employee well-being.

How Kindred Healthcare used personalization to reduce diabetes risk

Kindred Healthcare is the largest post-acute care provider in the U.S. and a Fortune Magazine Most Admired Company. Its more than 102,000 employees work in homes, rehab hospitals, nursing centers and hospitals across the country.

Struggling with self-care

Kindred employees are passionate about their work and patients, but because their lives revolve around caring for others, their schedules often are unpredictable. In 2012, Kindred partnered with Limeade to launch Healthy Steps Wellness, a program that drives employee engagement and inspires positive change in all aspects of well-being, while providing employees with the flexibility they need to achieve their wellness goals.

Aggregate, de-identified data from the Limeade Well-Being Assessment confirmed Kindred’s concerns about their own employee’s health— uncovering a notable rate of metabolic syndrome and obesity.

“We’d seen the writing on the wall for several years and knew it was time to take action,” Christy Tardy, benefits manager at Kindred, said. “In our initial program design, employees had the ability to achieve all the points required for the year by simply completing their Well-Being Assessment and biometric screening. But outcomes related to weight loss were minimal. Then Limeade recommended a new approach to personalize the experience for those at risk of diabetes, while keeping the healthy employees engaged year-round.”

A targeted approach

Kindred piloted the Revive™ diabetes prevention program with ADURO, a human performance provider and Limeade partner. Qualified employees joined the 16-week program focused on education, diet and physical activity to help participants prevent diabetes. Webinars provide information tailored to specific risk areas, while one-on-one coaching sessions increase motivation through a more personal connection.

Limeade created a personalized experience that delivered a Revive challenge to employees with three or more risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Each employee also received a personal email that acknowledged their risk level and encouraged them to apply.

“In the past we were cautious of using the word ‘diabetes’ in our communications. It’s a scary word and we worried people would shy away from the program. But Limeade and ADURO encouraged us to be upfront with the terminology and describe the program as a ‘pre-diabetes’ intervention. We found that this resonated with employees and helped convey the urgency to take immediate action,” said Tardy.

The communication reached 16,000 at-risk employees and Kindred received nearly 500 applications for the pilot program that held only 200 seats. After 16 weeks, more than 74 percent of participants completed the program. Of those who completed the program, 93 percent reduced their body weight by an average of 5.5 percent.

“The program sparked some incredible success stories. One employee lost 31 percent of his body weight, and another lost 67 pounds,” said Tardy.

In 2016, Kindred expanded the diabetes prevention program to accommodate 500 employees. Once again they strategically launched after a wave of biometric screenings. At-risk employees received email communication promoting the pre-diabetes program. This time, more than 1,000 employees applied.

Using insights to evolve

As a Limeade customer, Kindred has access to Limeade dashboards, a series of self-service, customizable analytics reports that instantly uncover population trends for smarter, more timely program design and evolution.

“Using Limeade insights, we also found that employees were disengaging from Healthy Steps Wellness once they received the points required for the incentive. To sustain participation, we created a new incentive level to enter a raffle for thirty $1,000 VISA gift cards. Employees can reach this level by improving their well-being and participating in more program challenges throughout the year,” said Tardy.

“By having this fourth level, we’re getting the healthy to engage. We’re also seeing a long-term impact in the overall well-being of our employees,” Tardy said. “Data show that people who are highly engaged in the program are healthier — and those findings speak for themselves.”