Your organization is invited to join our Wabasha County Worksite Wellness Collaborative.

Get involved - our new grant cycle begins November 1, 2020.

Any size employer is welcome to join! Whether your organization has a wellness initiative in place or is new to the concept, we invite you to learn more and participate. Investing in the health of your employees is an important step for all employers to take.

By creating a workplace wellness initiative, most of the best practice recommendations take little to no financial resources - only staff time to plan - but the benefits are many: increased productivity, improved morale and better managed health care costs.

Join our next Zoom meeting on December 8, 2020.

Organizations that have or are willing to develop the following characteristics are more likely to succeed in building a sustainable workplace wellness initiative:

The organization has leadership that…

• Is committed to building a workplace wellness initiative

• Provides staffing for this project and the organization’s workplace wellness initiative [about six hours each per month for a primary contact plus a wellness planning team]

• Provides a minimal budget, if needed

• Approves:

  • The wellness planning team decisions to improve employee wellness within
    your organization

  • Improvements in the organization’s approach to work site wellness based upon
    best practices and research

• Has the authority to make changes to policy and the environment

• Positively influences initiatives, policies and communication

The primary contact and the organization’s planning team will…

• Complete a work site assessment (provided by the project)

• Have one or two team members attend monthly coalition meetings

• Actively discuss and plan related activities

• Be willing to learn about and understand the best practices and research recommended by project consultants

Dedicate time at your own pace to do the following…

• Establish goals with internal stakeholders

• Implement the goals

• Track progress (format provided by the project)

• Share experiences with others (consultant and other participating organizations)

  If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200. Find some of our partner resources here.

All Minnesota businesses must establish and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan per Emergency Executive Order 20-74.

Each plan must provide for the business' implementation of guidance for their specific industry as well as Minnesota OSHA Standards and Minnesota Department of Health and Center for Disease Control guidelines in their workplaces.

Preparedness Plan guidance and templates are available. If no specific guidance is provided, the general guidance can be used for all businesses. Minnesota's Stay Safe Plan says all critical sector businesses should have developed and implemented a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan by June 29, 2020. Go to Stay Safe Guidance to find the guidance that best applies to your business.

Need assistance or have questions?

Tina Moen, Wabasha County Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) Coordinator, has been and will continue to reach out to businesses to establish a relationship, share local public health resources, offer assistance, and facilitate open communication lines around COVID-19. You can reach out to her by emailing or call her at 651-565-5200 and she will be pleased to speak with you.

Please see additional important resources as follows:

• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

• Businesses and Workplaces Plan, Prepare, and Respond

• Safely Returning to Work

• New Industry Guidance Documents Are Available 

• Worker protections related to COVID-19

• Authorization for Disclosure of Protected Health Information 

  to Employer

• Materials and Resources/Signage for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Response

Employees can call Three Rivers Community Action at 1-800-277-8418 to complete an intake over the phone to address any needs the household may have. 

If you have any questions, please contact the MN Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline at 651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-3504 Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Please consider joining our Wabasha County SHIP Worksite Wellness Collaborative.  Our next Zoom meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2020. More information about the upcoming meeting can be found on our events page or contact Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator, to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP by email or call 651-565-5200.

If you have a positive case, please reach out to Public Health; we see you as a valued community partner and we are here for you should you have any questions and we can be reached Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. and can be accessed by calling 651-565-8103.

Wabasha County SHIP works to adapt to the evolving needs of our partners.

Our next quarterly collaborative meeting will be held on May 5, 2020 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. on the topic of stress management in the workplace. This will be scheduled as a Zoom webinar to attend remotely.

Any size employer is welcome to join!
Whether your organization has a wellness initiative in place or is new to the concept, we invite you to learn more and participate. Investing in the health of your employees is an important step for all employers to take. By creating a workplace wellness initiative, most of the best practice recommendations take little to no financial resources - only staff time to plan - but the benefits are many: increased productivity, improved morale and better managed health care costs.

The following wellness resources are currently free as a response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

A big thanks to Southeast Service Cooperative for compiling and sharing this list. More resources can be found on their website Southeast Service Cooperative’s distance learning resource repository.

See additional Worksite Wellness resources in response to COVID-19 on our partner resource page.

• Y360 – On-demand fitness program from the YMCA for adults and kids

• Just for Kix Digital Dance - Dance classes in jazz, ballet, tap, kick, stretching, and tips from teachers

• Fitness Blender - Workout videos

• CrossFit  -  Workout videos, including single exercises and drills

• Calm - Sleep, stress, meditations, gratitude resources, masterclass opportunities, resources for kids

• Stress Help From The CDC - Tips for reducing stress during the pandemic

• Fitbit - For members, a 90-Day Free Trial of Premium, which features include personalized health insights, health guidance, advanced sleep tools, customized programs, and 150+ workouts from fitness brands like barre3, Daily Burn, POPSUGAR, and Yoga Studio by Gaiam, to help you stay active at home

• Whil - 90 day free access to courses on stress, mindfulness, resiliency and much more

• Random Acts of Kindness Foundation - Assorted kindness/positivity resources

• Coursera - The Science of Well-Being Course offered by Yale

• WellRight - Employee well-being resource repository

• Down Dog Yoga - Free access for Yoga Classes until April 1, July 1 for schools and healthcare workers

• Core Power Yoga - Classes

• OrangeTheory Fitness – Workout videos

• Blue Zones – Guide for healthy eating and shopping during social distancing

• WELCOA – Wellness resources for coping with the pandemic- including a weekly webinar series

• Dr. Sood – Free access to his Resilient Option Course – Use coupon code - Resilience100

• Wisdom Labs – Wisdom@Work App – Free for 90 days - lessons and practices to navigate fear and anxiety

• Headspace – Meditation, movement, and sleep exercises

• Balance - App – Guided meditations

• Nike Training Club – App – Video workouts

• Planet Fitness – Video workouts

• Carrot Fit – App – Collections of (brutal!) seven minute workouts

• Gold’s AMP – 600 video workouts, free until May 31

• Peloton - at home fitness app

St Elizabeth’s Medical Center Receives State Breastfeeding Friendly Recognition.

With the support of Wabasha County SHIP, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center has been named a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The designation acknowledges St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center’s commitment to acting as a model for the community by supporting healthy families and receiving the business benefits of supporting nursing mothers.

The Breastfeeding Friendly Recognition Program designation is achieved by adopting a written policy and educating staff about it; ensuring adequate break time for breastfeeding employees; providing a clean, private place to pump breast milk; and demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting breastfeeding in the workplace.

MDH recognizes workplaces and county health departments that have demonstrated their commitment to supporting breastfeeding families by creating a workplace lactation support program. This recognition program was created by the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) and is supported by the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP).

Breastfeeding is a foundational way to ensure that babies receive optimal nutrition during the first formative years of life. Studies show that infants who are breastfed have better health outcomes as they grow. MDH recognizes organizations that take a leadership role to improve breastfeeding rates across Minnesota. Learn how to apply for Breastfeeding Friendly Recognition.

If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200.

GO BACK TO CURRENT UPDATES
Schools Setting
Community Healthy Eating Setting
Community Active Living Setting
Worksite Wellness Setting
Health Care Setting
Commercial Tobacco-Free Living Setting