At Extended Stay America, employee benefits are more than a checkbox; they're a critical lever in improving lives and managing costs. For Melanie Goodwin, Director of Total Rewards, the goal is clear: “What can we do to help our associates? More importantly, how do we empower them to feel like they can help themselves?”
In the powerful video below, Melanie shares how Hello Heart helped the company turn cardiovascular risk into opportunity—driving unprecedented engagement, better health outcomes, and a renewed focus on women's heart health.
A Claims-Driven Call to Action
In her role, Melanie doesn’t choose what to prioritize, the data does. And like many benefit leaders, she’s seeing a familiar pattern. “Cardiovascular health is one of our largest spends,” she says. “We started looking at what we could do to encourage our associates… and how we could empower them.”
That’s where Hello Heart came in. With a digital program designed to help people monitor their blood pressure, understand risk factors, and take preventive steps, it immediately struck a chord with employees.
“People Just Gravitate to It”
Melanie expected Hello Heart to perform, but she didn’t expect what came next. “People were calling us. They were upset they couldn’t enroll yet. That never happens,” she said. “It was the easiest implementation I can say we’ve done in a long time.”
So far, over 1,900 associates have enrolled in Hello Heart, and remarkably, 400 of them engaged proactively on their own. “We never get that level of participation,” she said. Even more impressive, that engagement stuck. “People are still logging on. They’re still using the app. It’s that continued engagement that we really need.”
Real Results: From Stage 2 to Controlled
Melanie shared concrete outcomes that reinforce the impact. After just one year, her team observed a 15-point systolic drop among participants with stage 2 hypertension bringing them into stage 1 or even controlled ranges. “That’s not just data,” she noted. “That’s lives being changed.”
And the population that needs it most is paying attention. About 65% of their covered population is female, with an average age of 41 to 42—a demographic particularly vulnerable to cardiovascular changes due to menopause, stress, and caregiving responsibilities.
Meeting Women Where They Are
Melanie sees Hello Heart not just as a health tool, but as a lifeline, especially for women navigating midlife pressures and perimenopause. “When you get to that 40–45-year-old age range, you’re part of the sandwich generation,” she said. “You’ve got the stress of young kids and the stress of aging parents. We spend a lot of time caring for everybody else and as a result, we don’t necessarily take the time to care for ourselves.”
Hello Heart bridges the gap. “It helps you make connections that aren’t made for us. It gives you the questions, it gives you suggestions, and you can even print it out and take it to your doctor.”
A Message of Trust and Care
For Melanie, the real win isn’t just reduced claims, it’s building trust with employees. “It’s an easy win,” she said. “It gives that message to your associates: we care.”
Her advice to other employers? Pay attention to your data. “If you notice in your population that you have cardiovascular concerns, put Hello Heart in and let your population show you. We all have a responsibility to the world. If we’re not helping each other out—then what are we doing? Quite frankly, what else matters?”
Take the first step toward empowering your people. Talk to our team about bringing Hello Heart to your workforce.
1. Gazit T, Gutman M, Beatty AL. Assessment of Hypertension Control Among Adults Participating in a Mobile Technology Blood Pressure Self-management Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2127008, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27008. Accessed October 19, 2022. (Some study authors are employed by Hello Heart. Because of the observational nature of the study, causal conclusions cannot be made. See additional important study limitations in the publication. This study showed that 108 participants with baseline blood pressure over 140/90 who had been enrolled in the program for 3 years and had application activity during weeks 148-163 were able to reduce their blood pressure by 21 mmHg using the Hello Heart program.) (2) Livongo Health, Inc. Form S-1 Registration Statement. https:/www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1639225/000119312519185159/d731249ds1.htm. Published June 28, 2019. Accessed October 19, 2022. (In a pilot study that lasted six weeks, individuals starting with a blood pressure of greater than 140/90 mmHg, on average, had a 10 mmHG reduction.) NOTE: This comparison is not based on a head-to-head study, and the difference in results may be due in part to different study protocols.
2. Validation Institute. 2021 Validation Report (Valid Through October 2022). https://validationinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Hello_Heart-Savings-2021- Final.pdf. Published October 2021. Accessed October 19, 2022. (This analysis was commissioned by Hello Heart, which provided a summary report of self-fundedemployer client medical claims data for 203 Hello Heart users and 200 non-users from 2017-2020. Findings have not been subjected to peer review.)
