Pinnacle West provides a variety of programs that encourage healthy lifestyles and informed decision making to better manage health costs and positively impact individual health and productivity.

We view health management as a corporate business strategy that focuses upon prevention and health promotion to control escalating health benefit costs while improving the success and health of our employees and the company as a whole. We know that disability costs and the effects of an aging workforce can be minimized through effective implementation of processes and programs designed to promote healthy behaviors and lifestyle practices.

We continue to invest in comprehensive programs that improve the health, productivity and well being of our employees by promoting healthy behaviors, disease management and healthy lifestyles. Through these efforts we have been able to control escalating health-benefit costs while improving the success of our employees and our company and will continue our medical strategy focus to:

• Reduce health risks and improve long-term health status
• Reduce medical claims costs
• Motivate positive change in modifiable health risk behaviors
• Integrate health promotion, preventive services and care management for employees along the health care continuum

The company offers a variety of programs to employees to assist with, and support individual personal health management, including:

• Healthquest is a voluntary, company-paid health screening conducted by an outside worksite wellness vendor at more than 28 site locations throughout the company. Healthquest offers a convenient way for employees to help identify and support healthy lifestyle behaviors. Participants receive a health evaluation and comprehensive lab screening. After the screening, a confidential report is sent to the participant’s home, along with information and resources to help interpret results and take action in managing personal health
• Employee Assistance Program provides no-cost, employee-assistance counseling and referral services to all employees and their family members seeking solutions to personal difficulties such as (but not limited to): emotional stress, marital and family discord, drug or alcohol abuse, financial or legal burden, death of a loved one, grief, anxiety, depression or other personal problems which may occur
• Weight/Lifestyle Management Classes provides educational instruction and resources to support a healthy lifestyle and promote behavioral change
• Flu Shots are provided for free to employees
• Mobile Onsite Mammogram (MOM) screening services at company facilities
• Healthy Lifestyle loans which are interest-free loan up to $1,500 toward healthy lifestyle programs and services. These include annual fitness center membership, home use fitness equipment, personal training, nutritional counseling/weight management and programs to help employees quit smoking/tobacco
• Ergonomics Program which was created to minimize the potential health impacts to employees from ergonomic stress related injuries and illnesses
• Mayo Clinic Web Access provides online health information and resources, including a health risk assessment and interactive lifestyle management tools and programs
• Healthy Returns Care Management offers care-management services to assist those in better managing chronic diseases or conditions

Flu pandemic plan
Since APS is a critical part of the local infrastructure, a flu pandemic scenario is one possible crisis being addressed in the company’s Business Resumption Plan (BRP). A cross-functional team of employees from Energy Delivery, Generation and Shared Services is developing plans to address the impact of sustaining operations during a flu outbreak. Such an outbreak could affect employees and the company’s business operations.

In addition, recognizing that a good defense is a healthy offense, the company’s Health Services team is providing employees with information on good health practices. By following this information, employees and their families can minimize their risk of becoming part of the flu pandemic.