What do GE, Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Co., Western-Southern Life Insurance Co., Cinergy, Sun Chemical Corp., and LensCrafters have in common? All provide a corporate fitness center for their employees.

        Maureen Swift,project consultant for Tri-Health Preventive Health Systems, which manages many of these centers, explains why they do it.

        “Primarily we see companies . . . looking for a recruitment and retention tool, or looking for a way to increase employee productivity or decrease health care costs.”

        An additional plus is the return on a company's investment. “What we have found,” Ms. Swift relates, “is that companies using comprehensive wellness programs have been able to see a return-on-investment ratio of 3.5 to 1.”

        But do these fitness centers really get used by employees? Ms. Swift claims they do.

        “Generally we see 25 to 30percent use (by a company's work force). There are some exceptions to that and you may see even more participation. Also, some companies open up membership to spouses, retirees, and even adult children of employees. And that's not a bad way to go. Those people are still involved . . . in the health-care-costs picture (of a company).”

        The GE Fitness Center in Evendaleis an example of this wider membership. Assistant Manager Lynne Haag describes its popularity. “It's used all the time. We probably have 3,400members currently. As far as daily visits, I would probably say around 800. When we open at 5:30 in the morning we have a whole line of folks getting in here. We provide the showers and towels. It's a great way for people to start out their day. They'll actually come in here, get a workout, have their breakfast and head right over to work.”

        The GE facility is a full-fledged fitness center with an indoor lap pool, an indoor track, cardiovascular equipment, weight resistant equipment, fitness classes and a number of group health programs. They also offer on-site cardiac rehab for members. “I think at this point it is the largest on-site corporate program of its nature in the country,” Ms. Haag says.

        The University Fitness Center at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Clifton is unique because it also opens its doors to the public. Besides offering credit card plans, payroll deduction is available for university employees.

        Kathryn Fortner, 29, is a Web developer for the UC Medical Center Library. She works out on her lunch hour three times a week. “It's something that fits into my workday rather than taking time after work. I have a young child and it allows me to spend time with my family. I guess you'd call it time management.”

        Mary Palascak, a research assistant in the Medical Center's Hematology/Oncology Department, has been coming to the fitness center's “Stretch and Tone” class once a week on her lunch hour. She explains, “I joined the YMCA, but it's difficult to get there. After you go home you have to make dinner and one thing leads to another and it's really hard to find time in the evening.”

        Dr. Jerry Kasting, 48, associate professor at the UC College of Pharmacy,works out at the center twice a week. He likes the way it makes him feel. “I feel great after a workout. To me, it's exercise but it's stress release too. . . . I recommend this to other co-workers whole-heartedly. I think it's a great getaway for half an hour or an hour or whatever you can spare.”

        Signing up recently at the center to receive some guidance for her fitness program was Karen Lenore Edwards, associate professor of psychology at theUC College of Arts and Sciences. She shares her motivation, “I'm hoping that there will be more than just machines. I need to feel that I'm in a little community of people and we care about each other and what we do and how we look. And everybody might have a goal and there will be people there who will help you reach your goal . . . I'm going to treat it like a formal course . . . except this one will be for me.”

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