We Can Help You Protect Firefighter Health and Reduce Long-Term Healthcare Spending.

An on-site annual physical program based on NFPA 1582 guidelines for a major metropolitan fire department, with 660 members screened and hundreds of silent findings caught and followed through.

The Challenge

A major metropolitan fire department selected NDS Wellness to provide and administer an on-site annual physical with stress testing, based on NFPA 1582 guidelines, for all team members. The goals of the program were to identify chronic disease early, while still in its asymptomatic stage, to assist in coordinating management of care for the members who needed it, and to educate every member about their health status and future health risks.

Because firefighters face an elevated cancer risk, the program added ultrasound screening covering the liver, thyroid, gallbladder, spleen, kidneys, abdominal aorta, pancreas, and testicular or pelvic assessment. Participation was voluntary, which meant the program had to earn engagement rather than mandate it.

Healthcare Participation

NDS Wellness delivered a concierge 30-minute private consultation with a licensed practitioner for each member, covering a review of health history, analysis of blood work and biometric data, a head-to-toe physical, education, and determination of appropriate next steps where applicable.

To drive voluntary participation, educational emails went out ahead of the program alongside on-site member meetings. All program administration, including aggregation of member data, was handled by NDS. In the program year, 660 team members participated. On-site program delivery significantly improved engagement by lowering the barriers to participation.

Results: What One Program Year Found

In a population that looks fit from the outside, the screening surfaced widespread silent risk.

THE CARDIOVASCULAR AND METABOLIC PICTURE

71 percent of the department’s population has stage 1 or stage 2 hypertension. The most common abnormal laboratory findings told the same story: elevated LDL cholesterol was the single most frequent abnormal result (460 members), followed by total cholesterol (246), glucose (236), HbA1c (179), and triglycerides (149).

These findings carry a direct cost dimension. Annual health spend for individuals with complications from diabetes runs $25,224 per year, from hyperlipidemia $16,975 per year, and from hypertension $16,181 per year, against an average of $4,418 for individuals aged 50 to 51 without complications. And the risk compounds: individuals with three asymptomatic risk factors for metabolic syndrome are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease and five times more likely to develop diabetes mellitus.

THE CANCER SCREENING FINDINGS

The ultrasound program surfaced findings that would otherwise have gone unexamined. 26 percent of participants had fatty liver, a condition whose care costs run very high at first diagnosis. Testicular findings were identified in 129 members (20 percent of those screened), thyroid findings in 102 (15 percent), and gallbladder findings in 60 (9 percent), among others across the screened organs.

FOLLOW-THROUGH ON EVERY FINDING

Across the program, 464 abnormal ultrasounds, X-rays, and stress tests were identified, and 427 resulted in successful follow-up provider contacts. A finding did not sit in a report. It became a phone call from a medical provider, an explanation, and a next step.

WHAT THE MEMBERS SAID

97 percent of members said their provider addressed all of their health concerns. 89 percent rated their overall experience 4 or 5 out of 5, and 94 percent rated NDS professionalism 4 or 5 out of 5.

WHAT THE RESULTS SHOW

Silent disease was widespread in a population whose job demands fitness, which is precisely why screening built around firefighter risks matters. Bringing the program on site is what made the engagement possible: members who would never have scheduled this testing on their own walked through it during a shift.

The long-term objectives of the program are to identify, educate, and quantify participants with an onset of disease as well as those without, and over three to five years to reduce the top risk factors across the department. Aggregate year-over-year data from NDS electronic medical records supports monitoring both healthy and high-risk members alike, with the mid to long-term goals of reducing healthcare spending while improving member health.