Professional Development

I've been a member of Welcoa for several years now and earned the Welcoa Faculty Status a couple of years ago.  I also belong to a community wellness program, WHAGR (Workplace Health Alliance of Greater Rochester), where we design 2 conferences per year discussing topics that will enhance our peers programs throughout the industry.  Through the numerous educational programs, as well as the rapport I've built with my associates in the industry, I've been able to stay abreast of what works in wellness.  In addition, I belong to a multiple county-wide benefits forum where wellness is always a topic. 

I'm very proud of our accomplishments.  Back in 2009, after receiving the "go ahead" from our CEO and achieving buy-in from our entire senior leadership team, I formed a team of 10 individuals across the country and in Canada to help me run our Fit for Life program. My team-mates are from all areas and levels of the Company.  Though some of the team members have changed, this program would never be as successful within the organization, as well as outside the Company, without their awesome support and efforts.

The program I developed here, Fit for Life, won the Wealth of Health award in 2011 and 2012 and we also won the elite Gold Fit-Friendly Worksite award from the American Heart Association.

The most successful program we run would probably have to be our RMC Olympics.  We run this program for 2 weeks in July.  We put together a list of activities that can be done on the job, no matter what your job might be.  We have individuals, outside and inside the wellness team, that volunteer to captain teams.  The spirit of competition really gets everyone motivated to participate and do their best.  We don't just focus on exercise, we include diet as well.  There are teams that walk, have a healthy lunch together, and lose weight as a group.  These behaviors continue well past the timeframe of the program - they are ongoing.

We also run several other programs; we're involved in the community Eat Well Live Well Challenge (spring), the community Blood Pressure challenge (late spring), we provide a 4 week Mission:Nutrition program (late August/early September, to reap the rewards of a bountiful harvest) and a Stress Solution program (4 weeks around the end of the year - perfect for holiday stress!).  All of these programs together have netted some amazing results.  We're seeing lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower weight and overall a happier work environment.  We've seen a huge decrease in tobacco use and not-to-be-overlooked in any way, our medical premium increases have declined significantly! For example, this year there is NO INCREASE vs. when we began this program we were seeing upwards of 20% increases.

We also provide biometric screenings each year and request that employees enter their health assessment data into an online program we have with our medical vendor.  Of course it is confidential and voluntary - although we do provide a small incentive for employees who choose to participate.  Through this program we're able to obtain aggregate measurable data on a year over year basis.  This is how we know the program is working and how we know which programs we will continue to run (with a little sprucing up each year!)

I have a little story to tell regarding my leadership role as a wellness professional.  I have always believed in preventive medicine, of living a healthy lifestyle and that "everything in moderation" is a good phrase to live by.  I turned 50 almost 2 years ago and I was just a little late to have my first colonoscopy but I finally had it done in May of this year (2014).  They found a tumor, and unbelievably it was cancer.  I then had surgery, and again, unbelievably, they found that it had spread to lymph nodes.  I'm undergoing chemo as I type this.  I am very sure of a positive outcome, but I'm so thankful that I do "walk the talk" because I could be in a much worse position - it could have been too late!  So I'm kind of a pest about getting those exams done when they're supposed to be done.  Not just to my co-workers, but to my family and friends as well.  And truly, I've received very little negative feedback in the 5 years since we established Fit for Life.

We have tied our Fit for Life program to a level of medical premium that an employee can receive. There are 3 tiers. All employees have access to medical benefits at the lowest level; however by participating in Fit for Life to different degrees in the current year, they can achieve a better outcome with their medical premiums for the following year.  This has been very well received by our employees and we have a participation rate of over 70%.

I fear the biggest challenge companies will face in the upcoming years is the increasing cost of medical if they don't start placing wellness as a priority.  The good news is, there are so many of us that do prioritize wellness and we love what we're doing, that we are enthusiastically willing to share our experiences and provide assistance wherever, whenever!

Thank you so much for the nomination and the opportunity to apply to be a Top 100 Health Promotion Professional!