Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO)

HERO's activities are as follows:Think Tank members meet in February, May/June and in the Fall preceding the annual HERO Forum. Originally formed to seek answers to rising health care costs for companies, the Think Tank has continued its work in 2023 to also study Total Worker Health and the integregation of well-being and safety, the introduction of Lifestyle as Medicine as a model for improving employee health (a grant funded by Ardmore Institute of Health), the connection between brain health (cognitive resilience) and business performance, and how companies can integrate well-being into their social responsibility initiatives.HERO committees, comprised of Think Tank member company employees, aredeveloping guidance for employers in areas that include workforce mental health and well-being and the multi-dimensional strategies that serve to develop and support an organization's people and culture. The annual HERO Forum brings together industry thought leaders and business executives to share best practices, discuss innovation and research in the field, and build networks that support new partnerships and collaborations. In addition, HERO provides 1-2 complimentary webinars monthly for HERO members and the employer marketplace on topics of interest related to workplace health and well-being.The HERO Scorecard is a free, online tool that employers can use to benchmark their health and well-being efforts against a national database of all employers that have completed a Scorecard response. Companies also receive subscores for mental health, DEI, and social determinants of health. The Scorecard database includes large, midsize and small employers. Companies can purchase benchmark reports to compare against other organizations by size, region, and industry. For an annual license fee, HERO also offers the Scorecard Preferred Provider Program for organizations (e.g., benefits consultants, well-being vendors) that wish to receive regular reports on their clients' data. The HERO Scorecard in available in a U.S. version. The International version was updated in 2022, and is also available in Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Turkish translations.In 2022, HERO was awarded a sole-source contract from NIOSH through the Department of Health and Human Services to develop an open-source data clearinghouse for the NIOSH Worker Well-being Questionnaire (WellBQ). Upon completion of this project, researchers will have access to employee-level data that could inform future research studies on employee health, well-being and safety and the organizational best practices that support a healthy work environment. Employers will have the capability to easily administer the online survey to employees and will receive a de-identified summary report of the data.HERO connects science and practice for employers and updates the research agenda annually to reflect areas of importance to demonstrate the value of a health and well-being employer ecosystem. When approved by HERO's research leadership, HERO will designate research funds to support a study to add to the evidence for health and well-being. In December 2023 in the American Journal of Health Promotion, HERO published a study of 66 mental health assessments for employers to understand the mental health status if their workforce.