Implementation of a physician-organized wellness regime (POWR) enforcing the 2007 NFPA standard 1582: injury rate reduction and associated cost savings.

Abstract

To determine the effects of a physician-organized wellness regime (POWR) on a cohort of firefighters while applying the 2007 National Fire Protection Association Standard 1582. A prospective evaluation comparing baseline with postintervention injury rate data among 252 Howard County, Maryland firefighters with analysis of return on investment. After implementation of POWR, the Howard County fire department showed a 40% reduction in recordable injuries during year 1, which increased to 60% during year 2. Return on investment was shown to be 4.6:1 by the second year. Moreover, the subpopulation of overweight firefighters showed statistically significant weight loss during the intervention period. POWR, a specific type of wellness initiative, can lead to substantial cost savings from an injury-sparing perspective alone and has potential to decrease cardiac risk factors among a high-risk population of firefighters.