April 1997 // Volume 35 // Number 2 // Tools of the Trade // 2TOT1
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An Investment In The Future: Employee Wellness
Abstract
The Take Charge of Your Health Conference gave employees in one Ohio Extension district access to a major medical facility and also helped develop a partnership between the University Medical Center and Extension. As a group, employees were found to be at risk due to mean values outside the ideal range for total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Diastolic Blood Pressure, and Body Mass Index. Wellness programs such as this one can demonstrate an organization's commitment to employee's mental and physical well-being.
Wellness programs can demonstrate an organization's commitment to employees' mental and physical well-being. In times of budget constraints, when benefits may be reduced and availability for salary adjustments limited, these programs may have a positive impact on employee performance and morale.
Most of the 16 county South District is located in federally- defined Ohio Appalachia. Demographics indicate that residents of this Appalachian region have higher incidences of health problems, experience a shortage of health care professionals and struggle with distressed economic conditions than other regions. More commonly, health intervention practices are utilized as compared to preventative ones.
The "Take Charge of Your Health" conference gave Ohio's South District employees access to a major medical facility and also helped develop a partnership between Ohio State University Extension and The Ohio State University Medical Center. The program took place in fall 1995 at a state park facility.
Program objectives included: emphasizing the benefits of preventative health screening for employee mental and physical well-being, demonstrating the organization's commitment to its employees, and supporting a project that has merit for duplication in county and/or district settings with clientele.
A steering committee of county, district and state staff developed the program and conference that included an initial survey, health screening that assessed current status, and an educational component to encourage follow-through with identified health concerns. Over 90% of the 100 staff members in the South District including agents, program assistants and support staff participated in the one-day wellness conference.
Health screening provided participants with an assessment of current levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, stress, hearing, blood pressure, fat intake and physical fitness. Mammograms and prostrate screenings were also available. All tests were provided at no charge to the participants with funding provided by The Ohio State University Extension and the Medical Center.
The conference featured a keynote speaker who utilized humor to address time management, the challenges of balancing work and family, and rekindling the spirit. Participants received a Stephen Covey Daily Planner and his book, "Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People," to reinforce the goal of helping employees balance personal life, work, and family.
Educational objectives and action strategies are being developed to address those areas of highest concern. Emphasis will be placed on improving nutritional habits and improving physical fitness. Ohio State University Extension strongly supports these efforts.
As a result of the success of "Take Charge of Your Health" conference conducted in the South District, the 1996 Ohio State University Extension Annual Conference incorporated various screenings as a part of a health and wellness fair for its nearly four hundred employee participants.
Detailed findings are available in a paper prepared by the authors. Write to Cindy Oliveri, South District Office, The Ohio State University Extension, P. O. Box 958, Jackson, OH 45640. Ask for "Health Assessment of Ohio State University Employees in the South District."
Covey, S.R. (1994). Daily reflections for highly effective people. Fireside Simon & Schusler.