Department of Social and Health Services Economic Services Administration ESA

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HEALTHY WORKSITE INITIATIVE

• Department of Social and Health Services
  Economic Services Administration (ESA)
• Kjerstin Riedel

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The Tale of Two Journeys

• Personal Journey
• Began with a telephone call
• What did I get myself into?
• There is a happy ending ?
• ESA Journey
• Began with a goal

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Goal

• Create a culture of wellness that is embraced by
  most employees.
• How we accomplished our goal
• Gathered and evaluated data
• Sought, valued and acted upon employee input
• Implemented interventions and best practices
• Created a wellness culture that is multi-faceted

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ESA HQ Demographics

• 500 employees
• 60 female and 40 male
• 65 gt 45 years old
• Location - 2 offices among 6 floors
• Sedentary work

ESA Mission and Vision To help people build
better lives by eliminating poverty and hunger
and building stronger communities
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Engaging Employees

• Division coordinators
• All staff presentations
• Surveys
• Weekly emails and newsletters
• SharePoint web site
• Email address
• Bulletin boards and wellness literature
• Sharing success stories
• Prizes and incentives wellness gift bags, iPODs,
  mountain bikes, elliptical machines, yoga kits,
  etc.

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Changes to Work Environment

• Strong leadership support
• Wellness committee representatives from each
  division
• Sick rooms converted to wellness rooms
• Release form
• Equipment - bicycles, blood pressure monitors,
  scales, pedometers, etc.
• Literature about cholesterol, high blood
  pressure, Diabetes prevention, etc.
• Wellness web site
• Fit-Picks in the vending machines
• Promote Energize Your Meetings
• Little changes add up to big results!

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Effective Wellness Activities

• Changes that Last a Lifetime
• Healthy Quarters
• On-site health risk screenings
• Weekly lunch and learn sessions, including
  Diabetes Prevention, Nutrition 101, Identity
  Theft Protection, Retirement Planning, Living
  with Change and Managing Stress, etc.
• DASH to the Market
• Bicycle check-out program
• Yoga
• In the works Fitness room, walking routes with
  maps, walking meetings, wellness fair, and flu
  prevention campaign

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Results

• 39 participated in health screenings
• 87 took action to change behavior
• Risk factors for diabetes, cholesterol, and blood
  pressure decreased
• Tobacco usage decreased by 7
• 75 of those overweight or obese lost weight

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Accomplishments

• Strong leadership support and staff involvement
• 3 rounds of on-site health risk screenings
• Changes that Last a Lifetime - more than 50
  employees participated in this 12-week program.
  One of two Grand Champions came from ESA.
• Implemented Healthy Quarters
• Sick rooms converted to Wellness rooms
• Robust wellness web site
• Weekly emails and wellness-related Lunch and
  Learn sessions
• Culture of wellness is now the norm

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Lessons Learned

• Dedicated resources are recommended for
  consistency and momentum
• Data is important for understanding your
  population and implementing interventions
• Changing work priorities and limited resources
  can have a negative impact on a wellness program
• Leadership support is crucial to a successful
  wellness program keep them engaged
• Incentives increased participation
• The Health Care Authority is a valuable resource
• A culture change does not happen overnight
• If I can do it, anyone can do it!

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Next Steps

• Proposal for on-site fitness room
• Focus on Flu prevention
• Wellness Fair
• Spread information throughout ESA
• Keep Culture of Wellness alive pursue
  Washington Wellness Worksite designation

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ESA Wellness Web Site