Science and practice confirm the importance of systematic work of enterprises on corporate health programs. It is not the state, but common sense that dictates the need to develop this area, as evidenced by the figures and data provided by the participants of the session «Corporate health programs as a fundamental element of saving the health of employees of the enterprise», held at the Expoforum site as part of the IX St. Petersburg International Labor Forum and the CUBE EXPO exhibition «Personnel. Management. Security.»

By 2030, the shortage of personnel in Russia may reach 2.4 million people, and the current one is 1.5 million, while 71.9 million people are employed, of which 36% are dealing with harmful factors. Such state statistics data were provided by Evgeny Khibarev, Doctor of Medicine, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the N.F. Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Medicine, substantiating the thesis on the need to develop and implement corporate health programs.

Science can help, and there is already work done in this direction in the form of a pilot project for the prevention of occupational diseases. Among the results, there are already registered programs for creating a digital employee profile and an approved methodology.

Among the measures to strengthen the health of employees, regular medical examinations can be effective for early detection of risks and prevention of the development of serious diseases, providing employees with medical insurance and access to high-quality medical services, said Marina Fadeeva, First Deputy Director General of the ANO DPO MUC «Personnel Development», Vice Rector. In addition, she mentioned the organization of sports and wellness activities to promote health and team spirit, as well as the creation of an environmentally friendly work environment to reduce stress and improve the overall well-being of employees.

Among the economic benefits of health programs, the expert named a reduction in medical costs and sick leave compensation, increased productivity and reduced staff turnover, as well as an improvement in the company’s image. Individual prevention programs and creation of healthy workplaces will be the most effective in terms of saving workers’ health, which is achieved through cooperation between employers and employees, investments in infrastructure, involvement of medical experts to develop programs, and personalization of approaches to health promotion. All this increases the comfort, safety and effectiveness of initiatives.

A non-trivial thought was expressed by Vladimir Shuppo, director of GRAND Cryo LLC: prevention and preventive actions to preserve health should begin with the head of the enterprise so that he feels their influence and wishes the same to his employees. But the CEO needs to recover in preventoria. According to Vladimir Shuppo, they take the best from dispensaries in terms of medical equipment, but they are distinguished by an increased level of service. The first one, according to the head of GRAND Cryo, will open in the summer of 2025 in Altai under the name Altay Restart with the Cryo ClinIQ clinic and will combine five-star service with advanced medical technologies.

The effectiveness of preventive health measures is confirmed by the practices of Russian Railways, which were described by Olga Yenikeeva, Head of the Department of Medical Prevention and Healthy Lifestyle at the Central Directorate of Healthcare, a branch of the company. One of the most impressive is a comprehensive program to combat cardiovascular and oncological diseases, as a result, mortality from these diseases among employees is 3 times lower than the average in Russia.

The interest of the audience was aroused by a joint project of Russian Railways and EVOGEN LLC to assess the genetic risks of diseases among employees and measures to prevent them. Due to the high cost, the number of participants totals a couple of thousand people, of whom 75% turned out to be carriers of hereditary diseases. Many people found the new diabetes control program, which involves remote monitoring, and a mobile clinical and diagnostic center in the form of a 14-car train to be non-trivial. And this is only a small part!

The foresight of Russian Railways was noted by Vasily Yaremenko, head of the Center for the Study and Assessment of Legal and Economic Problems of the Industrial Safety and Labor Protection System (Center LLC).

«Why are they involved in prevention in a state-owned company? Because it’s profitable. This has a tremendous economic effect!» he began his speech.

According to him, already now there are leading companies in Russia in terms of the level of development of health protection. They develop a body of basic areas and additionally create their own. Vasily Yaremenko listed among the main areas assessment of industrial risks and the health of workers, organization of medical care, compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements for nutrition, drink, work and rest regimes, as well as measures to promote a healthy lifestyle. The indicators are considered to be the level of injuries, the percentage of occupational diseases, the number of cases of temporary disability, disability rates, the number and dynamics of workers with chronic non-communicable diseases, the number and causes of industrial evacuations, as well as the coverage of preventive measures and training.