CARIBOU — Cary Medical Center has been designated as a Fit-Friendly Worksite by the American Heart Association. The award recognizes Cary for going above and beyond when it comes to their employees’ health and is based on the hospital’s employee wellness program.
Cara Miller, director of the program at Cary, submitted a portfolio of the various elements included in the wellness program.
A statement from the AHA noted, “Your award is based on the wellness program you developed, continue to grow, and offer at Cary Medical Center as well as your submission of a portfolio. Cary has demonstrated American Heart Association’s worksite wellness initiatives!”
Miller said that she was pleased with the award and that the efforts under way at the hospital to improve health status and promote wellness are multi-faceted.
“We are so fortunate that the leadership of our hospital supports this program,” said Miller, who is also a national health consultant. “They allow me to develop a variety of programs that make it possible for many of our employees to stay on the road to good health. These programs include fitness classes, walking trails, lunch and learns and one-on-one consulting, and now the employee health risk assessments. We have a very comprehensive program and we are so pleased to get this recognition from American Heart.”
The specific categories for which the hospital was recognized include, physical activity at the worksite; increased number of healthy eating options available at the worksite; promotion of a wellness culture at the worksite; and embracing at least nine criteria as outlined by the AHA in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture as a Fit Friendly Worksite.
“You are corporate trailblazers who have adopted the initiative and vision to try improving the wellness of employees at the worksite,” the AHA said.
Kris Doody, RN, chief executive officer at Cary, said that support for employee wellness comes from the very top leadership of the organization.
“Our board of directors and the senior management team fully support our employee wellness program,” said Doody. “We manage our resources very carefully and we believe every dollar is precious, but we know that supporting the health and wellness of our employees is an investment that pays back many times over in productivity, reduced absenteeism, employee morale and health care costs. We congratulate our program director, Cara Miller, for the great work she has done and for receiving this significant award from the AHA.”
Beginning in 2013, the hospital’s wellness program initiated employee health risk assessments. This is a voluntary program where employees complete a comprehensive health status survey. These confidential surveys provide the employee with a snapshot of their current health picture.
The program also completes a detailed report provided to each employee about ways to maximize their personal wellness, improve on healthy choices and make progress toward specific health goals. And employees may choose to share the information with their health care provider.
A general summary of the information is provided to the wellness program director that outlines key organizational health issues in a broad sense so that they might develop programs responding to specific issues.
“This has been a great program for our employees,” said Miller. “They are learning a lot and I am now looking at programs that will improve on cholesterol levels, blood pressure, reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes and other programs. Our employees have really responded well to the HRA program.”
The Fit-Friendly Worksite award must be reapplied for annually to maintain the recognition, and Miller plans to reapply in July of 2013.
