Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Labor
October 25, 2013 12:00 AM

At CQuence, wellness moves to front of the line

Ashok Selvam
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Employee engagement is also a top priority for CQuence Health leadership. Above, employees and their families enjoy a fall outing at a local farm.

    Care-coordination consulting is one of the services CQuence Health Group offers its clients, but the company also specializes in a coordinated approach to wellness among its own employees.

    Related Content

    View the list of all the 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare

    Read more about the Best Places recognition program

    Read more about this year's winners

    “I'm a big believer that if you take care of your employees, everything will follow, including customer satisfaction and other benefits across the board,” says Mike Cassling, president and CEO of the Omaha, Neb.-based firm.

    CQuence oversees a group of firms that work with consumers and healthcare organizations offering marketing, human resources, medical technology and clinical services to streamline healthcare delivery. The 29-employee company placed No. 5 overall in this year's 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare and No. 2 in the small-employer category, those with 25 to 99 staffers.

    Cassling and his staff believe strongly that taking care of employees means providing them with the resources to help them take care of themselves. That includes a comprehensive wellness program.

    New employees are always impressed by the company's gym, says Lindsay Cosimano, CQuence's chief marketing officer. Staffers can practice yoga, play basketball and use the exercise equipment. A physical-fitness “boot camp” and other classes are included for employees who pay a $10 a month gym membership fee.

    MH Strategies

    Innovative ways some Best Places are using sustainable or green practices:

    • Innovative Healthcare Solutions, Punta Gorda, Fla.—Paperless webinars and meetings.
    • Heart 'n Home Hospice & Palliative Care, Fruitland, Idaho—32 eco-friendly vehicles are provided to top employees.
    • JSA HealthCare Corp., St. Petersburg, Fla.—Styrofoam cups eliminated, and every employee gets a tumbler or cup for beverages.
    • Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, Metairie—Used toner cartridges donated to local school PTAs for fundraising.
    • Pikeville (Ken.) Medical Center—Recycles all cardboard, uses reusable dishware, separates solid from medical waste and abstains from mercury-related products by using digital thermostats.

    Cassling says CQuence considered offering gym access for free, but management believes that if employees spend their own money, they'll be more inclined to use the facilities. “If they have skin in the game, they're more likely to work out rather than watching the membership go to waste,” Cassling says.

    Cassling's father, Bob, founded the company in 1984, and an employee-benefits program titled Captain Cassling's Journey to Wellness is named in honor of the elder Cassling. Staff established the pirate-themed program in 2001 as something fun that would be attractive to employees, Cosimano says. Bob Cassling helmed CQuence, much like a captain of a ship, which is what inspired the name, she says. The company gives individual employees a stipend of $300 a year and families $500 a year that can be spent on almost anything that benefits the wellness of the employee or the employee's family.

    While the program does have some restrictions—for example, employees can't spend the money on groceries—workers are invited to find creative uses for the stipend. Some use it on fishing, hunting or parks licenses. Others use it to buy fitness equipment or fees for cooking classes to help them learn how to serve healthier fare at home. CQuence also has started to distribute free Fitbits, small electronic devices that measure the user's physical activities and help employees monitor progress toward individual fitness goals.

    “For us, it's more about giving people the resources to define wellness in their own terms,” Cosimano says. “It's for the mind and body; it's not just about working out.”

    In addition to its dedication to wellness, CQuence looks for ways to support professional growth among its staff, Cassling says, singling out its employee-development program. The program, “Road Map to Success,” has evolved over the years from employee input through surveys and one-on-one discussions. Workers identify two or three key areas they'd like to focus on in terms of career goals and acquisition of new skills. The employee then works with training modules and a development plan also designed to foster better communication between employee and management.

    “The tool can help get employees off to a fast start, revitalize current employees, improve communication and build sound employee-manager relationships,” says CQuence spokeswoman Jane Schuster.

    Follow Ashok Selvam on Twitter: @MH_aselvam

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    CKPU Northern California Unions Picket
    Thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers prepare for potential strike
    Union labor issues
    Healthcare unions see increased interest, contract wins
    Most Popular
    1
    CMS tries luring providers to revamped Medicare ACOs
    2
    Oregon joins other states in setting ratios for nurse staffing
    3
    Blue Shield CA taps Amazon, Mark Cuban, CVS for new PBM model
    4
    A health innovation hub grows in Lake Nona Medical City
    5
    Hospital-at-home providers push for Medicaid coverage
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing