We’re excited to announce that our very own Dr. Jennifer Turgiss, DrPH, MS., Vice President of Health Solutions, will present at World Congress’ Prevention & Wellness 3.0 on Thursday May 9th. Dr. Turgiss joins key influencers from the employee wellness industry to discuss healthy, sustainable employee behavior change.  She’ll discuss why traditional wellness programs don’t drive sustainable behavior change, why companies should take a culture-first approach with their programs and how that translates into a highly engaged, highly productive workforce.

In its 3rd year, World Congress’ Prevention & Wellness Congress is presenting a revolutionary agenda that directly responds to a maturing wellness industry by moving beyond Wellness 101 and laying out the framework for real discussion and real idea exchange through real employer experiences. The conference content aims to challenge the way we think about wellness and reposition programs to understand the role of employer and employee accountability, comply with new incentives rules and integrate technology that is customized to impact the workforce. Wellness 3.0 means reaching beyond the employee and impacting dependents and communities too.

Companies must move beyond dated employee wellness programs that solely rely on surveillance tactics and focus on the sickest, most expensive employees. The new school of thinking involves treating employees like consumers – and people – instead of patients by creating personalized programs that engage all employees, regardless of their health status or fitness level. Dr. Turgiss will explain this new approach of holistic sustained behavioral change and why it represents the industry’s future.

DATE: May 9, 2013

TIME: 11:50 am PT – mark your calendars!

LOCATION: The Westgate Hotel, San Diego, California

SESSION: Simply launching an employee wellness program doesn’t guarantee success.  To see measurable health shifts and make a meaningful impact on the health of your workforce and your bottom line, you’ve got to sustain employee health engagement for years.  Join this session and learn how to:

• Include consumer-driven techniques like game mechanics, social networks and mobile apps to motivate employee behavior change
• Tailor your programs and create compelling, personalized wellness experiences for your employees
• Tap into the human competitive spirit with challenges and competitions
• Offer incentives aligned with the behaviors you want to promote

Learn more about Prevention & Wellness 3.0 at: http://www.worldcongress.com/events/HH13002/

Exciting news here at Virgin HealthMiles! Today we’re happy to announce that we’ve recently added Ron Hildebrandt and Melissa Frieswick to our executive team. Ron’s been tapped as our vice president of product marketing, while Melissa now serves as vice president of strategic solutions.

Ron Hildebrandt brings more than a dozen years of experience marketing and selling market-leading software and solutions that improve employee performance to enterprise customers. At Virgin HealthMiles, Ron is leading Virgin HealthMiles’ go-to-market strategy, including messaging, positioning and new product direction. He’s also responsible for the company’s public communications including press, consultants and digital media audiences.

Melissa Frieswick joins Virgin HealthMiles with more than 15 years’ experience in the employee health and productivity, benefits and consulting industries. As vice president of strategic solutions, she has direct accountability for the growth of our existing client partnerships while working with sales to unearth new opportunities to bring wellness and engagement to even more major employers.

Ron comes to Virgin HealthMiles from Enkata, a successful, venture-backed Bay Area analytics and performance management company he co-founded in 2001. There, he served as EVP and oversaw all marketing, sales and customer-facing functions and led Enkata’s rapid growth. Ron’s passionate about health and wellness. He’s one of the millions in the quantified-self movement who’s working to use technology and analytics to dramatically improve our quality of life.

Melissa’s expertise spans wellness, medical, pharmacy, dental, life, disability and voluntary benefits. Throughout her career, Melissa has worked with some of the nation’s largest, most-forward-thinking employers and subject-matter experts. Before Virgin HealthMiles, she served as a business leader and senior consultant at Dominium Benefits. There, she led the development of the company’s health and productivity practice, and was instrumental in the firm’s market expansion and growth strategy. Prior to Dominium, Melissa spent more than 13 years at Cigna Healthcare in various leadership roles.

Ron Hildebrandt holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Melissa Frieswick has a Bachelors degree in Mathematical Economics from Providence College, graduating with high honors. She holds her Health and Life Producer License in the state of Massachusetts.

“We’re thrilled to add Ron and Melissa to our strong, growing team here at Virgin HealthMiles that’s helping top employers solve key business challenges with our employee health engagement solutions,” said Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin HealthMiles. “We’re looking forward to their contributions leading our entire team and our solutions to new, exciting places.”

Virgin HealthMiles delivers employee engagement software and solutions that help companies improve the wellbeing, motivation, and productivity of their employees. With adoption rates between 60 to 80 percent, its programs have the highest engagement rate in the industry and enable employees to adopt healthy habits every day, leading toward sustained wellbeing, lower healthcare costs, and increased employee retention.

Watch this video to see what Virgin HealthMiles clients and members have to say about how we’re changing lives for good.  Learn more about Virgin HealthMiles at www.virginhealthmiles.com.

Virgin HealthMiles is changing lives.  Just ask HealthMiles member Amanda Haverkamp.

“It was such a thrill to see my employer offer such a great program! I’d already begun a journey of weight loss that has now reached over 130 lbs. At first, HealthMiles was just a way to make money, but now it’s the way I track if I am doing well or not. It’s a great way to challenge myself and those around me. It’s fun to be in a meeting and compare how many steps you’ve taken. I believe that Virgin HealthMiles has helped change the culture at my employer, where people are now talking about exercise and how to be healthier.

Having this program has inspired many to actually do something, whether that be park a little further back in the parking lot or just simply walk next door. For me, my largest step day was the day I ran a half marathon – I had over 40,000 steps that day. Wow, who would have thought that a lady who once struggled to get to the second floor would run a half marathon?  I also completed my first Sprint Triathlon as well. Having my GoZone has helped me see every day how much I have accomplished and then get rewarded for that as well. Thanks for giving me a way to continue my journey to good health by rewarding me for each step I take toward my next goal!”

Are your employees making healthy changes and doing amazing things? Tell us about how they’re inspiring others in your workplace.