"Thrilled" and "so proud" were the responses of Lutheran Social Services and Shults Auto Group workplace wellness coordinators, who along with Orleans County, were recently honored as the top three workplace wellness programs in the Western New York Healthy Heart Program. An awards celebration took place recently at Lutheran Social Services.
Lutheran Social Services and Shults Auto Group were among 99 workplaces from the eight-county Western New York region participating in the Healthy Heart Program. Benefits Specialist Karen Pfeffer coordinates the wellness team at LSS, which ranked first, while Laurie Shults directs efforts for Shults Auto Group. The awards mark the conclusion of the five-year initiative.
The Healthy Heart Worksite Program provides technical assistance to employers with the goal of creating workplaces that support healthy lifestyles and heart healthy behavior. Healthy Heart has been coordinated locally by worksite and community wellness consultant Lisa Schmidtfrerick-Miller, a Certified Wellness Program Manager.
Laurie Shults of Shults Auto Group is proud of the award and pleased with the program, noting: "Healthy Heart gave us such a strong start with wellness, and directed us toward success. The Healthy Heart staff not only gave technical assistance, but their personal time and support, and they were essential in integrating community resources and other grants to enhance and build upon what we were doing. Healthy Heart was instrumental in changing the corporate culture of the Shults Auto Group Worksite toward wellness - it is an awesome thing and we plan to keep it going."
Lutheran Social Services CEO Tom Holt has also been happy with the outcome: "We are honored to receive this award; it's an example of how small steps can create an exciting journey. The benefits of better health are obvious, but it can be difficult to get started. We are grateful for the enthusiasm of the LSS employees who made it happen and to our community partners. Together we've created a healthier culture here at LSS, which improves the work we do and ultimately benefits our larger community."
"It is exciting to see two very deserving local workplaces awarded top status among all 99 participating workplaces in the program," says Ms. Schmidtfrerick-Miller. "I also have had the pleasure of assisting many dedicated wellness coordinators and their wellness teams at area workplaces over the past several years, and they all deserve recognition for their efforts."
In addition to Lutheran Social Services and Shults Auto Group, Chautauqua County workplaces participating in the Healthy Heart Program included: SKF Aeroengine, Carriage House Companies, Heritage Village, Heritage Park, Heritage Green, Jamestown High School, Cassadaga Job Corp, Bush Industries, Trinity Biotech, and Tanglewood Manor. Many additional employers took part in Healthy Heart Program initiatives such as Bike to Work Week and workplace wellness training, and Healthy Heart has served the employer community as a go-to resource for workplace wellness over the past five years.
With the support of the Healthy Heart Program, Chautauqua County workplaces involved with the project have made over 25 permanent changes in their workplaces to support healthier lifestyles, and have also conducted dozens of on-site fitness, nutrition, and tobacco-cessation programs.
"We really focused our efforts on permanent, sustainable change, and on encouraging a wellness-oriented culture at the workplace," explains Ms. Schmidtfrerick-Miller. "This results in a meaningful, yet cost-effective approach to wellness in the workplace. We know that those changes will remain in place long after the Healthy Heart Program has ended, and I am very proud of that."
