HCW Benefits Blog

Contributor:
Twyla Hutchins, RN, BSN, COHN-S, Medical Management Officer
Hill, Chesson & Woody

In these times of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to develop a health and wellness strategy designed to shape a healthy environment and improve the health of our workers. At HCW, we have our own wellness team made of representatives from each functional area of our company. Every department is able to communicate ideas, programming desires, likes and dislikes through their team representative. Our committee members rotate every two years leaving some seasoned members in place.  The committee is employee led and directed with a discretionary budget. We use surveys and employee input to drive our activities and we feel this greatly enhances our program engagement.

WellBucks for Wellness Program
Our 2010 WellBucks for Wellness program has been a great success so far. It is an easy, simple, and rewarding program that promotes wellness activities among our employees. Participants can earn WellBucks as they complete activities for nutrition, physical activity and prevention/healthy habits. The WellBucks they earn can then be redeemed for gift certificates valued from $10 to $400. All participants are also entered into a monthly drawing at each month’s staff meeting to win an additional prize. Everyone who participates is a winner and is rewarded for their wellness activities!

Quarterly Meet & Munch
Every quarter our wellness team holds a Meet & Munch where we host a light meal along with a group activity. In the third quarter of 2010, we held a Heartsaver  CPR  training course through the American Heart Association. Ten HCW employees stayed after hours to become certified in Adult & Child CPR and AED! In 2010's fourth quarter, we'll host a cooking demonstration featuring Lynn Heisel, owner of Rock & Roll Health School. Lynn will be presenting us with a demo called: “Healthifying Holiday Foods: Making Holiday Favorites Healthy“. As she cooks, participants will learn tips on how to incorporate healthy cooking into their daily routine.

Cardio for a Cause
The HCW wellness team also believes in cardio for a good cause! Earlier this year, HCW employees raised over $2,050 for the Durham Nativity School by participating in the Great Human Race, a 5K Race and Community Walk in Downtown Durham.  13 employees and family members came out for this great cause. Again on September 26th, 11 HCW employees walked to raise $700 for the AHA Heart Walk at the RBC Center in Raleigh.

Healthy Eating Made Easy
Once a month, the wellness team treats fellow employees to a bounty of fruits and veggies. We alternate each month bringing fresh fruit in for morning snacks, and a small salad bar for lunch. Employees have really enjoyed the healthy snacking and making a side salad to accompany their lunch compliments of the wellness team.

These are just some of activities our wellness team enjoys coordinating for employees at Hill, Chesson & Woody. Engaging the workforce through a process that involves them allows them to become stakeholders in the company! What better way to do this than through a diverse wellness team?