Integrated Health, a Pfizer Solution, and Harbin Clinic recently announced the launch of a new Web-based health challenge that uses the best from social media and gaming principles to help Harbin employees better engage with their health.

“Creating a culture of health – from exercise to healthy eating to adhering to medication – is something we preach to our patients every day,” said Kenna Stock, chief operating officer of Harbin Clinic. “If we ask patients to be engaged in health, we felt it only right that we ‘walk the walk’ in supporting our employees in their quests to live healthier lives, too.”

This new partnership gives Harbin Clinic employees access to Keas from Integrated Health, a Web- and mobile-based wellness platform designed to achieve engagement in their health that may lead to healthy behavior change.

Employees participate in eight week challenges where they join teams, set exercise and healthy living goals, and track their progress online.

At the end of the challenges, Harbin will reward its employees with prizes to the top teams and prize opportunities to the teams reaching a specific point threshold.

Those teams achieving the point total will be entered into a post challenge raffle for a chance to win as well.

This approach rewards not just “winning”, but also program participation and the pursuit of healthy behaviors.

More than 50 percent of Harbin’s employees have already registered for the challenge and surveyed Keas users have in the past reported high satisfaction with the platform and healthier behavior changes within weeks of beginning the challenges.

“We know that social media and gaming technology is a key way of engaging employees in their health,” said Geeva Ebens, health and wellness lead for Integrated Health.

“We’re excited to combine Pfizer’s heritage of data-driven health innovations with state-of-the-art technology to help improve the engagement of Harbin employees throughout the region. Investing in the health engagement of Harbin employee reinforces just how seriously Harbin takes health.

This is year two of Harbin’s Wellness Program called HarbinSTRONG, which is aimed at making it easier for employees to lead healthier lives. In addition to the Keas challenge, which responds to employee requests to work in teams, compete against each other and track their progress, Harbin also provides employees with free fitness center memberships, access to a Weight Watchers at work program, and free produce from local farmers during peak growing seasons.

Harbin Clinic is Georgia’s largest physician-owned multi-specialty clinic with more than 220 providers in 17 locations throughout Northwest Georgia providing care in more than 30 specialties.