Transforming Employee Well-Being: Trilogy Health Services Partners with Hinge Health

“I was told three years ago that I needed a knee replacement. Since joining Hinge Health, I’m no longer in the pain I was in before. I can bend my knee without pain, and going to the gym is much easier. I love using Hinge Health; it’s giving me my mobility back and I’m getting stronger every day. I would love to encourage others to use it as well. It’s a great program, and I am thankful for it for keeping me from having surgery.”

Trilogy Health Services employee and Hinge Health participant

About Trilogy Health Services

Trilogy Health Services is a leading provider of senior living and post-acute care. The company has over 130 senior living communities (campuses) throughout the Midwest in the United States. Their main footprint is in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. They offer the full continuum of care including independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation for its residents. They also offer an in-house pharmacy, and have labs and dialysis care for all residents. 

Sherry Hunt, AVP Of Benefits and Well-being at Trilogy Health Services and her team embarked on a transformative journey to enhance employee well-being and reduce health costs. 

Trilogy Health Services’ workforce and benefits challenges

Trilogy employees deal with physical aspects of assisting residents on a day to day basis, leading to very high musculoskeletal claims that significantly impact the company’s healthcare costs. Sherry noted, "Unfortunately we have very high claims due to musculoskeletal issues. In fact, it has maintained as one of our top 5 health spends year over year for several years now.”

Sherry and her team would meet annually to find ways to improve employee well-being and reduce costs. She mentioned, “As costs continued to rise, we experienced a lack of transparency around pricing, which increased trust issues. So when we began the  search for a vendor, we knew we needed an effective true partnership that would work with us.” 

Another challenge was over-communicating to employees. Trilogy has a very large benefits portfolio and wanted to ensure that everyone was educated on the programs, but without bombarding them through over communication. 

Trilogy Health Services' MSK benefits program implementation

Trilogy Health Services chose to begin its partnership with Hinge Health in early 2023 after working with their consultant to find a vendor that best fit their needs. They selected Hinge Health for its cost-effective and transparent approach to addressing musculoskeletal issues and because it was easy and available for the entire population. 

The implementation of Hinge Health was well-received by Trilogy employees, who showed high engagement and positive feedback right from the start. Sherry shared, “​​We love the program. It was just an easy win when we brought on Hinge Health. The employees have loved it from the beginning, so win-win for us!”

Even before the initial communication campaign to introduce Hinge Health, Trilogy employees were signing up and using the program on their own. The company's communication strategy further enhanced employee awareness and participation. Some early outcomes included: 

• Reduced Musculoskeletal Issues: The program effectively addressed musculoskeletal issues, leading to a significant reduction in related healthcare claims.

• Improved Mental Health: The holistic approach to well-being significantly reduced cases of depression and anxiety among employees. Sherry noted, “When you're dealing with pain, it can easily bring on depression and anxiety, and in our industry, as caregivers, we care for our residents and their families. We're caring for others all day and we tend to put ourselves last.”

• Enhanced Trust and Satisfaction: Hinge Health’s transparency in pricing and commitment to communication further enhanced trust and satisfaction among employees. 

Trilogy not only wanted an effective solution for their specific challenges but also a true partnership that would work for all of their employees. Hinge Health simplified the process for employees, allowing them to take care of themselves on their own time and whenever was best for them. Trilogy also took advantage of Hinge Health's communication strategies to ensure employees knew about the benefit without overcommunicating. 

“The convenience factor of using a digital care solution is truly a game changer for us. You can look at our engagement numbers — our employees are clearly using the Hinge Health benefit. They have a very strong communication strategy that will drive results and keep our employees engaged,” added Sherry. 

Sherry mentioned that one of Trilogy’s models is that they care for their employees while they care for others. “We instantly saw that glaringly obvious impact that Hinge Health would physically have on our employees, but soon after we learned that there was so much more, and our results prove that.” 

Here are some of those results along with self reported outcomes from members from January 2024-December 2024: 

• Annual Engagement: 5.5% of total eligible lives

• Increased Engagement: Year after year

• Pain Reduction: 48% average pain reduction within the first 90 days

• Anxiety Reduction: 79% average reduction in anxiety

• Depression Reduction: 50% average reduction in depression

• Member Satisfaction: 9/10

Trilogy’s partnership with Hinge Health has already been a success; addressing the challenges of high MSK claims and over-communication. The digital care solution has led to significant improvements in employee well-being by addressing both physical and mental health issues, has seen a strong return on investment, making it a valuable asset in enhancing both employee health and reducing healthcare costs.