2019 Worksite Wellness Strategy Updates
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Workplaces in Wabasha County are stepping up to help their employees be healthier at work!
Nearly $15,000 in funding was granted to
Workplace Wellness partners working with
Wabasha County SHIP during this grant
cycle which ends on October 31, 2019.
Thank you to our collaborative partners for participating in our quarterly meetings.
Our next Worksite Wellness Collaborative meeting:
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
9:00-10:30 AM
Wabasha County Public Health
411 Hiawatha Drive East,
Wabasha, MN 55981
During the 2018/2019 grant cycle, partners worked on some of the following changes:
Healthy Eating-Workplace gardens, water bottle filling stations, applying to become a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace.
Physical Activity-Increasing access to opportunities for physical activity.
Stress Management-assessing and making sustainable systems changes.
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If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200.
Bikes are good for businesses and their employees. Become a Bicycle Friendly Business℠ with SHIP support.
Through the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB℠) program, employers are recognized for their efforts to encourage a more welcoming atmosphere for bicycling employees, customers and the community.
Here are a few ways Wabasha County SHIP can help support your organization:
Encouragement - Your SHIP Coordinator has access to multiple resources your organization can use to help encourage staff to feel comfortable and motivated to ride their bikes to work.
Engineering - Did you know SHIP has helped fund two bike share projects in Wabasha County? Learn about the Lake City Community Bike Program and Wabasha Public Bikes.
Education - Your local Wabasha County SHIP Coordinator is a League Cycling Instructor and can offer bicycling education to employees and customers. We also have local route maps such as the Wabasha Biking Guide and Biking Guide of Lake Pepin.
Evaluation and Planning - Your local Wabasha County SHIP Coordinator can help lead your community/workplace to resources and services to evaluate your readiness and create action plans which will help gear your organization toward becoming a BFB℠.
If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200.
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center updates tobacco-free campus policy with SHIP support.
St. Elizabeth’s became tobacco free on January 1, 2012, but with recent SHIP support, they updated their campus policy, promoted the revision to department managers, then offered educational sessions on tobacco policies and tobacco cessation as well as provided resources. Every St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center associate completed an acknowledgment of the new policy. With their new signage inside and out, there is no confusion about St. Elizabeth’s tobacco-free campus policy.
“We have long had a tobacco free campus policy, but we are aware of the need to review and revise our policy and then determine strategies for enforcement.”
- Paula Thompson
Our next Worksite Wellness Collaborative meeting is scheduled for July 11, 2019.
Any employer is welcome to attend.
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.
Wabasha County sees positive change unfold with a worksite tool introduced in 2018.
The CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard is a tool designed to help employers assess whether they have implemented evidence-based health promotion interventions or strategies in their worksites to prevent heart disease, stroke and related conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity. The ScoreCard provides guidance on key evidence-based strategies that employers can put in place to promote a healthy workforce, increase productivity, and reduce the risk and associated cost of poor employee health.
Wabasha County completed the CDC ScoreCard in 2018 and again in 2019. Positive changes were seen and the scores were used to see where there continues to be room for improvement in employee access to healthy lifestyle changes, weight loss, heart health, increasing employee activity, and personal coaching. The assessment was useful for updating our action plan, for working with our wellness committee to identify which actions will move forward, and for delegating efforts.
With the completion of a CDC ScoreCard and action planning, Wabasha County was able to receive SHIP funding for water bottle filling stations and enhancements to their exercise rooms.
If you’d like to learn more about accessing the CDC ScoreCard tool and partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200. Find some of our partner resources here.