St. Joseph Hoag Health, Irvine Company Offer Employers and Employees Health Care Where They Work

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeking to bring great medical care and wellness coaching directly to residences and workplaces, St. Joseph Hoag Health and the Irvine Company are continuing to inaugurate ground-breaking wellness centers with the January opening of a site at the Irvine Company's Jamboree Center in Irvine.

The 1,000-square-foot St. Joseph Hoag Health Wellness Corner located at Four Park Plaza at Jamboree Center will service approximately 200 businesses as well as guests at Hotel Irvine. Offering basic medical care, the Wellness Corner will also focus on services that help to improve the health and wellness of today's working professional and prevent chronic conditions through lifestyle management programs.

"Our Wellness Corners are founded on a simple notion: Help people attain a healthy lifestyle by being more available to them. We believe if we do that well, we will have not just healthier individuals but healthier communities will also be possible," says Annette Walker, executive vice president of strategic services for St. Joseph Hoag Health. "It's all about becoming a true partner in managing peoples' health."

The vision of healthier communities is shared by the Irvine Company, a master planner and real estate investment company which, similar to St. Joseph Hoag Health, has deep roots in Southern California. The Irvine Company has always sought to enhance the lives of its residents and office workplace customers, and working with St. Joseph Hoag Health was a natural fit. In 2014, the two organizations opened a St. Joseph Hoag Health Wellness Corner at Irvine Company's The Village at Irvine Spectrum Center, serving more than 5,000 residents at the Village and neighboring The Park apartment community.

"The Wellness Corner at Jamboree Center further aligns us with our business customers by bringing an advanced level of onsite convenience to the workplace," says Doug Holte, president of Irvine Company Office Properties. "Easy and accessible health care and lifestyle management services are a top concern of forward-thinking employers, and we are bringing that directly to them at Jamboree Center."

The St. Joseph Hoag Health Wellness Corner at Jamboree Center will include medical services such as physical examinations, treatment of minor illnesses, telehealth, medical aesthetics, travel medicine and laboratory services. Additionally, a wide range of lifestyle management and health and wellness improvement programs will be available on-site. Services will cover improvement of the mind (stress management, yoga, sleep improvement and meditation) and plate (nutrition coaching, menu planning and personalized food plans). Most insurance plans are accepted and walk-in appointments and convenient scheduling are available. Office workers are called when the health team can see them—there is literally no waiting room at the center.

"At St. Joseph Hoag Health, we're focusing on developing innovative solutions to health care challenges, and Wellness Corners are just one example of our breakthrough thinking. With this effort, our network is directly partnering with employers, helping them as they seek new ways to manage resources while keeping their employees healthy," says Richard Afable, MD, president and CEO of St. Joseph Hoag Health. "Having a Wellness Corner close to the workplace is a great way to not just control costs, but also ensure quality and heighten employee satisfaction."

Before embarking on the Wellness Corner concept for local communities, St. Joseph Hoag Health first established an on-site center for employees in its corporate Irvine office. The outcomes have been significant, indicating that a convenient on-site health and wellness service can greatly enhance health status and, ultimately, build healthier populations.

Among the outcomes experienced by St. Joseph Hoag Health at its employee site were a five percent increase in employees rated as low-risk for health care problems and a one percent decrease in those rated high-risk.  Additionally, employees reported a 29 percent decrease in inactivity, four percent decrease in obesity and 18.5 percent decrease in stress. Many of those visiting the center said they most likely would have avoided preventive and basic care had they not had the services immediately available to them.

"We have the data to show these types of convenient, expert programs clearly make a difference," Walker says. "We're excited to bring it to more of the people we serve."

Attention media: Please see accompanying Media Advisory on the Wellness Corner at Jamboree Center  in Irvine, Calif. Opening Event, Jan. 12.

About St. Joseph Hoag Health

St. Joseph Hoag Health is an historic alliance for Orange County, laying the foundation for sweeping changes in the delivery and accessibility of high quality health care. Combined, St. Joseph Hoag Health has earned some of the highest honors for medical care, including Magnet designation for its hospitals (the highest honor bestowed to hospitals for nursing excellence), "best of" listings in US News & World Report and Best of Orange County (Orange County Register) status. Drawing upon the strengths of renowned health care organizations, St. Joseph Hoag Health focuses on meeting the big challenges of health care today, including expanding access, improving wellness and preventive services, ensuring quality and developing more efficient methods in the delivery of care. The network includes flagship hospitals (Hoag Newport Beach, Hoag Irvine, Hoag Orthopedic Institute, Mission Hospital Mission Viejo, Mission Hospital Laguna Beach, St. Joseph Hospital Orange and St. Jude Medical Center), eight medical groups and physician networks and numerous outpatient and urgent care facilities in Orange County. The network is also affiliated with CHOC Children's and CHOC Children's at Mission Hospital.

About the Irvine Company

Celebrating its 150^th anniversary in 2014, Irvine Company is California's premier real estate company renowned for its award-winning master-planned communities, high-quality investment properties and conservation leadership. The company's growing portfolio includes office apartments, retail and resort properties in California's premier coastal markets of Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties as well as Silicon Valley. In Orange County, the company is admired for its master planning and stewardship of the historic Irvine Ranch, including the City of Irvine. Nearly 60% of the 93,000 acre Irvine Ranch – 55,000 acres in total—has been permanently preserved as open space.

MEDIA ADVISORY

St. Joseph Hoag Health, Irvine Company Offer Employers and Employees Health Care Where They Work

Jan. 12 Opening Event Demonstrates New Concepts in Keeping Today's Workforce Healthy

• Event to Feature St. Joseph Hoag Health Wellness Corner Concept
• Presentations on Worksite Wellness, Free Demonstrations, Tours
• Hosted by St. Joseph Hoag Health and the Irvine Company

SOURCE St. Joseph Hoag Health