Leading global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW announced the expansion of its Health & Benefits Scout tool, with two new models focused on the social determinants of health and climate risks.
“Scout Social Determinants of Health” (SDoH) identifies the economic, social and clinical resources that families have and need, uniquely based on where they live in the U.S. “Scout Climate” highlights SDoH vulnerabilities enhanced by a changed climate geographically across the entire U.S. Together, these models can assess the impacts climate will have on employee health.
These expanded Scout models leverage data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to present clinical prevalence (e.g., cancer, diabetes) and non-clinical resource (e.g., food access, transportation) accessibility.
“Scout Climate” is powered by Climate QuantifiedTM WTW’s analytical engine of best-in-class data, rich expertise and robust methods for measuring climate-related risks and enhancing climate resilience. “Scout Climate” can focus on regions where agricultural and construction workforces experience a high number of days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature at which the body begins to show impacts of heat stress. For example, workers in California’s Central Valley can experience these conditions between 75 and 90 days per year. Climate models estimate that such conditions will increase to over 100 days by 2050. Provided all other conditions stay the same, this has the potential to affect heath and productivity in significant ways.
“The impact of heat stress, drought and flood are just some of the challenges facing employees today,” said Drew Hodgson, National Health Care Delivery leader, WTW. “The Scout tool can help employers identify the HR and benefit strategies needed to address these issues, for both their physical and mental wellbeing.”
“The launch of these Scout models is another step toward helping clients manage climate risks and move toward a more resilient workforce and business,” said Dr. Nidia Martínez, director of Climate Risk Analytics, Climate and Resilience Hub, WTW. “Combining our deep analytical capabilities on climate with our health and benefits expertise allows us to use a holistic approach in addressing the evolving need of business and social response to climate emergency.”
Scout is market-differentiating in its use of Healthcare Bluebook cost and Quantros facility quality metrics across the U.S. WTW’s own Climate QuantifiedTM engine produces projected high-resolution consistent climate risk data through 2080 as a unique additional lens to view healthcare strategy.
While Scout is U.S.-based at present, collaborations with WTW’s Climate and Resilience Hub are under way globally to progress WTW’s focus connecting people strategies with scientific climate risk quantification.