CHS Announces Largest Collection of Reconciled Public Health Data

First Step of Research Project with Georgia Tech
and Emory University is Complete

VIENNA, VA. – February 1, 2007 – Comprehensive Health Services (CHS), a nationwide workforce health management company, today announced that its sponsorship of the Workforce Health Assessment Model (WHAM) with the Health Systems Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University has completed the first step in the project. This step, consisting of building the largest collection to date of reconciled public health data from disparate sources, will allow for the data to be input into a model that predicts the prevalence of certain health conditions.

Now in its disease-modeling phase, WHAM is scheduled for completion June 2007. The project will quantify workforce health risks, their consequences and costs, which will benefit companies nationwide in selecting cost-effective strategies to reduce long-term health risks and workforce health costs. Using Bayesian modeling techniques, the model combines empirical data with subjective expert information to predict outcomes for a specific workforce. Individual company data can be input into the model to identify company-specific, cost-effective strategies that reduce long-term health risks and workforce health costs while minimizing the impact on productivity.

“This entire effort shows our dedication and a continuing capital commitment to developing a realistic, results-driven model, which is of utmost importance to our clients,” said Mel Hall, CEO of CHS. “The end result will be to find never-before-seen cost-effective strategies to manage workforce health risks and reduce costs, and provide concrete measurements companies can greatly benefit from. These kinds of projects further the industry and help clients make better decisions for their bottom lines and their employees.”

The project team has created a conceptual model utilizing various data from major sources including the CDC, AHRQ, Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics on conditions, diseases, and other health data. The data have been processed into a usable format and placed in a common location, greatly improving accessibility and usability. Using data warehousing and data modeling techniques, the disease model will estimate prevalence rates of the top ten most costly health conditions and diseases given basic company workforce demographics.

About CHS

Founded in 1975, CHS is a leader in the management of nationwide workforce health programs. CHS serves Fortune 1000 corporations and the largest federal agencies, providing flexible, proactive, performance-based workforce health programs and business process outsourcing that result in bottom line benefits across the organization. Fortified by a foundation of best practices spanning over 30 years of experience, CHS’ approach includes onsite health centers, a national network of CHS-certified physicians and health care providers, and medical readiness teams that deliver customized solutions for maintaining a healthier, more stable and productive workforce. A member of the Founder’s Circle of the Occupational and Environmental Health Foundation, CHS also is a charter sponsor of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) Corporate Health Achievement Award. For more information, visit the CHS web site at http://www.chsmedical.com.

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