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What is a wellness program? Simply put, it is a program designed to help employees
stay well. It is the employer providing the tools and resources to allow their employees
to lead a healthier life.
One of the main goals of a wellness program is to have a positive effect on the
overall health and wellness of employees by improving their physical and mental
health in order to create a safer and more enjoyable work environment. This is accomplished
by providing employees with ongoing information, support and the tools necessary
to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The first step in developing a wellness program is to have the employer identify
the makeup of the employee population; i.e.: young adults, middle aged adults or
mixed.
The next step is to have the employees fill out an interest survey. This is very
important when setting up a wellness program. If the employees are not interested
in the subject, then they will not utilize the services/information put in place.
With the interest level information, a wellness team within the company can then
narrow down the choices of what will be included in their wellness program. Depending
on the financial resources available, it is also a good idea to have an "incentive
program" that further encourages the employees to participate in the program. This
can be as simple as gift cards, coolees, free lunch, etc.
Some of the things that can make up a wellness program are:
- Onsite Screenings
- Monthly Wellness Newsletters
- Fitness Membership Discounts
- Onsite Chair Massages
- Worksite Evaluations
- CPR Classes
- Nutrition assessment of snacks available at the work site
- Walking/Stretching Program
- Smoking Cessation Classes
- Flu Shot Clinic
- Wellness Library
- Weight Watchers
Lunch and Learns:
- Heart Health
- Respiratory Health
- Skin Cancer Prevention
- Stress Reduction
- Depression
- Advanced Directives
- Nutrition
- Diabetes
- Physical Activity
- Osteoporosis Prevention
Various Screenings
It is important to try to make screening services available onsite whenever possible. The availability of these screenings is dependent of course on what the community offers.
Some potential screenings are:
- Cholesterol, Blood Sugar and PSA Levels
- Mammograms
- Skin Cancer
- Blood Pressure
- Bone Density
Med-Cert works with its client's wellness team to assist in coordinating the services/programs that they would like to put in place. Once the program has been initiated, evaluations are done periodically to assess what is working and what is not. Then the program can be revised as needed. Again, employee feedback is essential in the evaluation phase in order to have a successful wellness program.
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