Professional Development

Prior to 2008, I had no idea that I had a passion for health and wellness until I joined VolkBell. Although I had already made a healthy lifestyle part of my own day to day, I didn’t realize the value this could have on our culture if I could get others to share my same views.  As my new career in health promotion revved up, I already had a Master’s Degree in Management and an undergrad degree in Interpersonal Communication.  It was necessary that I pursue additional studies in the area of health and wellness.  I became a Certified Health and Wellness Coach and ACSM Personal Trainer in 2011. In January 2013, I obtained my Certification as a Worksite Wellness Program Manager (CWWPM) and for fun I decided to also get my licensed as a Zumba Fitness Instructor in 2013.  I have a Master’s Degree in Management and an undergrad degree in Interpersonal Communication. 

With all of this, I have found that my passion has evolved in the last seven years to one of developing multi-year health promotion plans and engagement strategies that encourage individuals to live a healthy lifestyle.  Designing an effective wellness program boils down to understanding your culture, assessing the needs of the individuals participating and putting champions in place to lead the efforts.  

Demonstrated Success

What began as a communication only service quickly flourished into more than I had imagined.  With healthcare costs continuing to rise, more employers began seeking assistance in designing wellness programs.  In following our mission, I felt it was important that we had our own employee wellness program so that we could truly “walk the talk” with our clients.  We were recognized with the WELCOA Small Business Well Workplace Award in 2010 and continued to work with more and more clients each year.

In 2012, we rebranded our agency and created divisions within our company to further symbolize our service offerings.  VBWellness was born!

In the last six years I have

• worked to assess cultures, health and wellness guidelines and the built environment for areas of opportunity.
• partnered with wellness champions and ambassadors to grow their programs;
• provided ongoing communication, education and training, coordinating health fairs, biometric screenings, wellness health assessments, challenges and other events.  
• Analyze wellness program data, medical claims and costs and align company objectives with benefit plans and program opportunities.   
• Searched out additional revenue sources or funding opportunities, including grant writing, to enhance programming needs and tackle budget restrictions.  
• Collaborated and partnered with national and community agencies, local businesses and wellness professionals to develop wellness initiatives.

My favorite part of my job is to function as the go-to resource for peers, employers, and benefits and wellness providers regarding wellness related laws, policies and industry best practices.

When I am given the opportunity to work with a new client, I rely heavily on following WELCOA’s 7 Benchmarks to ensure program success. I have learned through trial and error the need for CEO support as well as ensuring they too believe in the cause.  When gathering data for these companies one of my most valuable tools is a wellness needs survey that I have created.  A combination of many different needs surveys, this one allows the employees to provide their thoughts on what wellness means to them and what programs or tools they would find beneficial to their overall pursuit of good health. 

Seeing the individual behavior changes and watching the client’s culture morph in front of your eyes is the greatest reward ever. This comes naturally when we have a good baseline and a motivated team to put it into action and monitor and evaluate the outcomes.  A few comments from program participants include:

72% of employees at one company said the best part of their wellness program is participating with co-workers.

“Our focus on healthy eating has helped me become aware of better nutrition and how that impacts my full recovery from hip replacement.”

“The Wellness program is a great and positive direction in awareness of ones health. It also can give that little push to make improvements to managing your health.”

Leadership

I follow my passion of promoting health and awareness both in the workplace and in my community.  As a wife and mother of two young children and someone who know the determination it takes to come back from a life-changing traumatic accident, I realize first-hand the challenges individuals face to lead a healthy, well-balanced life. 

Wellness isn’t something I can, or ever expect people to be able to follow 100%. It’s a constant struggle in the busy and diverse lives we all lead.  Wellness programs and what I do should be viewed as tools to guide individuals towards understanding how to make healthy choices at home and at work.

I am the Wellness Committee Parent Co-Chair of Linton Elementary and also the Program Advisor for the school’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program. I have been a member of the Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to Defeat Obesity (CanDo) and the United Benefit Advisors Wellness Committee for over five years. I also consult with other benefit brokers and employers looking to develop or enhance wellness programs within their own organization or for others. 

Innovation

One way that I have found to be innovative is through linking wellness programs to employer health plan design. This can be done by rewarding positive health behaviors by offering monetary incentives that offset the cost of an individual’s medical health plan AND ensuring individuals have a good understanding of their own medical benefits.  Studies have shown that this level of plan design equates to higher employee engagement as well as sustained behavior changes. 

Some clients I work with that have this type of plan and incentive design have seen health improvement shifts, behavior change and a cultural change as a result of our preventive care campaign. This includes:

• 13% higher than the norm for preventive care visits
• Cholesterol screenings participation has increased 9% in two years
• 70-85% program participation
• 6% of cohort population move from a moderate risk category to the low risk category

Vision

Dr. Steven Aldana spoke during a WELCOA training webinar last fall and it was a vision that I share.  If we go back 30 years ago, tobacco use was viewed as “cool”, “sexy”, or “the thing to do”. Now, because of cessation efforts AND uncovering the harmful effects of tobacco use, our nation’s culture is finally changing.  Across states, smoking inside buildings is no longer permitted. Some employers refuse to hire you if you smoke. And now, major convenience store retailers are deciding to no longer sell tobacco products. It has taken us 30+ years to change our cultural views and social norms surrounding tobacco use, but those activists didn’t give up no matter how defeated they felt.  I don’t intend to give up either regardless of the challenges we are faced with in the area of health promotion.  If I can continue to make a difference in the life of even one person, and show that what I do is of value to others, then I too will continue to be the one to challenge the status quo and cultural norms.