Implementation of a Physician-Organized Wellness Regime (POWR) Enforcing the 2007 NFPA Standard 1582: Injury Rate Reduction and Associated Cost Savings

OBJECTIVE: 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. METHODS: A prospective evaluation comparing baseline with postintervention injury rate data among 252 Howard County, Maryland firefighters with analysis of return on investment. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.