More Hawaii businesses are jumping on the wellness bandwagon, starting companywide health programs in hopes of boosting productivity and lowering medical costs.

The state’s two largest health insurers are pushing prevention to reduce expenses in the face of rising medical costs that continue to drive premiums upward.

"When you run a business with five and a half thousand employees and when you think about the issue of health care, there are two main ways you can look at it," said Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines. "One is dollars and cents and what it means to the bottom line. It’s clearly the case that having a healthy workforce and them having healthy families contributes to lowering your costs. The second way — and I think the more important way that strikes me most forcefully — is when you have an employee group of this size and you think about the extended families. You become aware of really sad and tragic stories of individuals whose health declines and whose quality of life diminishes because of health issues, who leave us prematurely."

Hawaiian recently began a program with Kaiser Permanente Hawaii called No Ke Ola Pono centered around helping employees feel better, both physically and mentally.

The airline is one of 65 employers working with the state’s largest health maintenance organization to set up employee wellness programs to improve the health of Hawaii’s workforce. Kaiser offers on-site classes and screenings, online wellness programs and health assessments, as well as coaching and rewards programs.

Hawaiian Airlines started a pilot program late last year, selecting 50 Hono­lulu-based workers out of hundreds of applicants to participate in a 12-week program focusing on healthy behaviors, nutrition and exercise habits. Each employee received a free Fitbit, a watchlike activity monitor, to track their progress. The airline subsequently committed to running spring and fall semesters this year, with a new group of 50 employees entering the program May 13.

Concurrently, Hawaiian also is offering an online fitness program called Thrive Across America for those who aren’t part of the No Ke Ola Pono program but would like to follow along during the three-month course.

"It is really important as an employer who cares about employees and their families that we do what we can to help people understand the choices we all make day in and day out," Dunkerley said. "We’re all aware that the ethnic makeup in the state, when coupled with our cultural approach to important things like food and hospitality and getting together and so forth, is unfortunately too often not a very healthful combination."

Dunkerley said the costs of the wellness program can run into the "hundreds of thousands" of dollars and get "as high as seven figures fairly quickly."

Kaiser said the amount businesses spend on wellness programs "really depends on how much the company wants to invest in their employees."

Kaiser spokeswoman Laura Lott said the costs "can run from $150 for the one time/one class to hundreds of dollars per employee for an ongoing program. There is no typical (cost) because every organization is different."

Dunkerley is hoping the significant investment in employees will eventually pay off.

"Surely in the short term it doesn’t save anything because this is about altering peoples’ long-term health," he said.

The program has helped Hawaiian employee Jenny Zer­cher, a 32-year-old information technology specialist selected to participate in the pilot program.

"The decision was made when I went to the doctor and he said I had high blood pressure and prediabetes. I was told if I didn’t bring it down by the next visit, I would be on medication," she said. "Being on a diet and exercise program by myself was actually lonely."

Zercher said she was placed on a team for the program, which helped motivate her to change her lifestyle. At Hawaiian headquarters, employees in the program could go to strength-training classes monthly and join weekly walking groups.

"We worked out separately, but we collectively put our steps together," Zer­cher said. "The goal was 10,000 steps a day individually. From the beginning of the program, it was really hard to get to 10,000 steps per day, but toward the end of the program, some top walkers were walking or running 8 miles a day. From nothing to being able to compete in the Great Aloha Run was my accomplishment."

Zercher recently signed up for this year’s Hono­lulu Marathon.

"I hadn’t done any running prior to this program," she said. "I wasn’t really interested in running. I’m definitely in the best shape I’ve been my entire life. I was never an athlete. Now I’m able to do these races, so it’s pretty exciting."

The Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state’s largest health insurer, also is offering workplace wellness programs.

Services include on-site biometric screenings, health education sessions, coaching sessions, chronic disease management, smoking cessation and weight loss networks, and Fitbit challenges.

In 2014 the number of local companies enrolling in HMSA’s workplace well-being programs doubled. More than 25 of the insurer’s largest employers, with 500 to 30,000 members, participated in the programs.

This year HMSA also is offering companies the opportunity to become certified Blue Zones Worksites, which offer workers things such as healthful lunch options, rooftop gardens and changes to policies and benefits. Companies interested in the program can go to hawaii.bluezonesproject. com.

"We’re focused on improving the well-being of our members. It’s the best way to help people live happier, healthier lives and is the key to controlling health care costs," said Garet Azama, HMSA vice president of consumer strategy, in a statement. "Since many of us spend a great deal of time at work and with our co-workers, the workplace is a perfect setting for a well-being program. And when we help companies and their employees adopt an attitude that makes well-being a priority, we can improve productivity, lower absenteeism, and encourage changes that will eventually spread to our families, our neighbors and our communities."