California Hospital Trying to Catch Diseases Early

Dameron Hospital in Stockton, California, is working with several large employers to try to reduce absenteeism, lower health costs and increase productivity.

According to the Stockton Record, Dameron is collecting employee health information from companies, allowing the companies to analyze what risks exist among their workforces that ultimately could affect their corporate finances. Employees are asked to fill out a confidential profile of their health, and are screened for blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body fat, according to the Record.

Employers can then go online and see the health risks–such as high body-fat counts–that are prevalent on their staff. The online form lists the conditions that will put the companies most at risk financially if the warning signs eventually result in diseases. Dameron then helps the companies address the problems, such as providing a cardiologist to talk to employees about heart-disease prevention.

Participating companies include the Cost Plus retail chain as well as International Paper.