Healthy Employees Create a
Healthy Library
Workplace Wellness is Worth Checking Out
Leslie Hartley
Adult Services Manager
Chillicothe and Ross County
Public Library
• Main Branch is a Carnegie
library built in 1906
• 6 other branches throughout
the county
• We have 48 staff members
• County population of 77,000
• We have 29,000 card holders
• We circulated 572,232 items
in 2013
Chillicothe and Ross County
Public Library
• Began our wellness program
in 2009
• Received a Healthy Ohio
Worksite Wellness Award 5
years in a row.
• Received a Psychologically
Healthy Workplace Award in
2011.
Agenda
• Identifying the Need for Worksite Wellness Programs
• Benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs
• Establishing a Wellness Committee
• Assess Employee Needs and Interests
• Designing a Wellness Program – Develop Mission Statement, Goals
and Objectives and Wellness Budget
• Implement the Wellness Program
• Selecting Wellness Program Incentives
• Evaluate the Success of the Wellness Program
Worksite Wellness defined
• Workplace wellness is any workplace health
promotion activity or organizational policy designed to
support healthy behavior in the workplace and to
improve health outcomes.
Identifying the Need
• Obesity has been linked to numerous chronic diseases including
cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2
diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis and some cancers
• Each year obesity contributes to an estimated 112,000
preventable deaths.
• Many workplaces are now sedentary settings and often provide
easy access to energy-dense food and beverages.
• As a result, workplaces are contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Cost to Employers
• Obesity drives up costs for employers and is associated
with increased absenteeism, disability, injury and
healthcare claims.
• In 2000 the health costs of overweight and obesity in
the US were estimated at $117 billion.
• Being overweight increases yearly per person health
care costs by $125, while obesity increases costs by
$395.
Cost to Employers
• A survey of North Carolina Department of Health and Human
Services employees found that approximately 70 cents of every
healthcare dollar was spent to treat employees who had one or
more chronic conditions, two thirds of which can be attributed to
three major lifestyle risk factors: physical inactivity, poor diet,
and tobacco use
• Obese employees spend 77% more on medications than non-obese
employees and 72% of those medical claims are for conditions
that are preventable.
Benefits of a Wellness Program
• Decreased healthcare costs
• Lower short term sick leave
• Increased performance and productivity
• Higher employee morale
Getting Support from the Start
• Is there support from the Library Board and from
Administration?
• Are managers willing to participate in worksite
wellness programs and encourage others to do so?
• What do they see as the benefits of worksite wellness
programs for employees and the organization?
• What kinds of worksite wellness activities are they
willing to allow?
The Wellness Committee
Employee involvement is vital to the success of any
wellness program.
The wellness committee should include:
Employees from a variety of departments and job
classifications
Potential participants
A member of Administration
The Wellness Committee
The wellness committee serves several functions.
1. Its an employee-driven advisory board encourages “buy-in” from
both management and potential program participants.
2. A representative planning committee will help assure that the
program is responsive to the needs of all potential participants.
3. The committee can be responsible for carrying out or overseeing
the rest of the steps in the planning process.
Employee Needs and Interests
Since worksite wellness programs are for employees, it’s a good idea
to find out from them what approaches have the greatest chance of
success. A simple survey made up of 10 or 12 questions can provide
valuable information. For example:
• Discover how employees want to receive program information.
• What health components are they most interested in addressing
and how?
• What types of groups might employees be most inclined to join
• Do any employees have expertise that may be useful to the
program?
Designing the Program
• It is important to think about what you hope to accomplish and
who will do what, when and how.
• Develop a mission statement and vision statement that list the
overarching values that drive the venture and the ultimate goals
or accomplishments that the project will strive to achieve.
• Set goals that have one or more objectives established to ensure
that the goal will be successfully accomplished.
Mission:
To create and sustain a healthy organizational culture that promotes good nutrition, physical activity, and encourages
preventative medical care.
Vision:
To encourage positive lifestyle choices that enhances our employees’ personal and professional productivity, and
improves physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Strategic Priorities:
Continue to adopt organizational policies that promote wellness
Develop and build sustainability into the wellness program to keep employees engaged and challenged
Contain health care costs, reduce absenteeism, and improve morale and productivity
Committee Members:
Nick Tepe - Director
Leslie Hartley – Adult Services Manager
Rick Edler – Facilities Manager
Debbie Nunziato – Community Relations Manager
Tammy Newlun – Clerk Main Library
Cathy Carroll – Technical Processing Clerk
Laura Kruger – Clerk Northside Branch
Missy Exline – Technical Processing Clerk
Goals for 2013:
Offer lunch and learn programs for staff that focus on heart health and good nutrition.
Offer fitness activities focusing on reducing stress
Offer health screenings that cover cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, BMI, and skin cancer.
Continue to register staff for first aid training.
Promote employee participation in health challenges, and community fitness events.
Wellness Budget
• An accurate and comprehensive wellness budget will allow the
committee to better compare program costs and outcomes during
the program evaluation.
• Employee cost-sharing for specific activities is also an option.
• Keep in mind that programs with moderate costs are more likely
to demonstrate cost-savings.
• Research the availability of grants
• Find ways to partner with other community organizations
Put Your Plan Into Action
This is the fun part!
Put Your Plan Into Action
• Use survey results to plan activities
• Add wellness activities to staff meetings and inservice days
• Alternate programs between physical activity,
nutrition and emotional wellness
• Messages should be repeated and themes reoccur
Examples of Programs
• Lunch and learns
• Chair Massages
• Walking Challenges
• Recipe Contests
• Ergonomic
• Health Screenings
Assessments
• “Biggest Loser”
Challenges
• Yoga Classes
• Internal recognition
program
Finding Community Partners
• West Virginia University Extension
• Local Health Departments
• Local Hospitals and Doctor’s Offices
• Workers Compensation
• YMCA
Secure Grant Funding
• The money is out there
• Make sure at least one wellness
committee is comfortable writing grants
• Some sources might include: LSTA,
Bureau of Workers Compensation,
National Network of Libraries of
Medicine
Change the Organization
Make sure organizational policies and practices
match the wellness messages.
• Smoke free campus
• Healthy food offerings at meetings and in-service
• Healthy vending options
Incentives
• Wellness program incentives attempt to build motivation by
offering individuals external rewards for taking steps in the right
direction.
• Don’t underestimate the power of wellness incentives to
motivate people to change. The fact is that people are not
intrinsically motivated to live health lives – if we were then we
wouldn’t need wellness programs.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for donations from health insurance
providers, local agencies, farmer’s markets etc. The worst they
can say is no.
Incentives
• Pedometers
• Cookbooks
• Gift Cards
• Stress Balls
• Wellness Leave
Evaluate Your Success
• Periodically review wellness programs to determine their
efficiency and effectiveness.
• A good wellness program evaluation looks at information to learn
both how well the program is working (process measures) and
whether or not it is achieving expected results (outcome
measures).
• Pre and post program surveys can be very helpful.
Summary
Benefits of worksite wellness
programs for employees include:
Benefits of worksite wellness
programs for employer include:
• Weight reduction
• Reduced healthcare costs
• Improved physical fitness
• Decreased rates of illness and
injuries
• Increased stamina
• Lower levels of stress
• Increased well-being, selfimage and self-esteem
• Better nutrition
• Reduced employee
absenteeism
• Improved employee relations
and morale
• Increased productivity
Leslie Hartley
740-702-4145
hartlele@oplin.org