Hospitals Work to Improve Employees’
Health
Employees at Ohio hospitals are not only healing
the sick – they’re setting a positive example of healthy lifestyles. The
Ohio Hospital Association’s Foundation for Healthy Communities is
awarding Hospitals as the Healthiest Workplaces in Ohio! grants
for the second year in support of hospitals’ efforts at reducing
employees’ health risks and health care costs.
The foundation will award four new grants totaling
$70,000 for employee wellness initiatives; building on the base
established last year that already has six Ohio hospitals developing
models for successful workplace wellness programs. The 2005 grantees
will receive another $30,000 this year for their work.
The new grant recipient hospitals employ 7,000
workers in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Belmont, Columbiana, Erie, Geauga,
Guernsey, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Huron, Jefferson, Lorain,
Lucas, Mahoning, Munroe, Ottawa, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca,
Trumbull, Warren, Wood and Wyandot counties. With the four hospitals’
commitments of staff and in-kind services such as its laboratory
facilities for screening and financial support, the four projects
represent investments of nearly $320,000 in workplace wellness.
The state needs this leadership by hospitals and
others, given 2001 data that placed Ohio in the bottom five states in
lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, tobacco use and lack of physical
activity. While Ohio is making strides toward improvement, nearly a
quarter of the population continues using tobacco products and nearly 65
percent is overweight or obese. As a microcosm of that population,
hospital employees are in a unique position to positively influence
Ohioans’ health behaviors.
“The Foundation for Healthy Communities salutes our
newest grant recipients for their creative approaches toward workplace
wellness. These hospitals are demonstrating how much they value their
employees and their continued productivity,” said Lynne Ayres, director
of the foundation. Ayres outlined the objective of the grants to first
integrate wellness programs into the hospitals’ culture and then help
other employers learn how they, too, can reduce staff costs through
lower turnover, absenteeism and benefits expenses.
The four grants totaling $70,000 were awarded to
the following institutions:
- East Ohio Regional Hospital
in Martins Ferry received a $20,000 grant towards the Race to
Wellness - Martin Ferry 500 program. Designed around a
NASCAR-race theme, the program promotes sustainable participation in
wellness and health improvement among employees and family members
with a primary focus on reducing cardiovascular disease.
- St. Elizabeth and St. Joseph Health
Centers in Youngstown received a $20,000 grant towards
their Because We Care program. The project will
provide convenient, cost-effective employee access to the hospital’s
award-winning employee wellness program through Employee Health
Kiosks strategically placed on the hospitals’ campus.
- St. John West Shore Hospital
in Westlake was awarded $20,000 for its Employee Wellness
Program, which emphasizes the impact stress plays in the
hospital environment, some results of that stress, such as
overweight, smoking and poor nutrition, and healthier ways for
employees to cope with pressures.
- Memorial Hospital
in Fremont
received $10,000 towards its Commitment to Health
program. This wellness program will go to the next
level by capitalizing on collaboration with local organizations to
improve overall health of the community.
The grant recipients were selected from a pool of
40 applications on the basis of program goals: design, creativity,
commitment of hospital leadership, involvement of employees, methods of
evaluation and capacity to implement the program.
“These four institutions deserve credit for having
the foresight at least seven years ago to place a priority on their
health care providers by promoting wellness and offering health
education on nutrition and smoking cessation, physical activity
opportunities and other benefits incentives for employees who change
their behaviors,” Ayres said. “These grant recipients plan to step up
their programs by increasing participation and targeting those at the
highest risk levels who are impacting the hospitals’ health care costs
the most.”
The 2005 recipients of the grants
which are expected to receive renewal funds of $30,000 to continue their
programs are as follows: Berger Health System in Circleville; Euclid
Hospital; Marietta Memorial Hospital; Middletown Regional Hospital;
O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens; and Southern Ohio Medical Center
in Portsmouth. Their programs are described on the Foundation’s Web site
at
www.healthycommunitiesohio.org/grants_current.asp.
The Foundation for Healthy Communities was created
and endowed by Ohio hospitals in 1994 to promote creative collaborations
for better health. It encourages hospitals and health systems to move
beyond traditional roles of healing illness and injury and develop
promising methods for promoting health in ways that will help all
members of their community realize their potential.
The foundation is an arm of the Ohio Hospital
Association. OHA represents 170 hospitals and 40 health systems
throughout Ohio. OHA’s mission is to provide leadership. OHA works with
members in meeting the health care needs and improving the health status
of the communities they serve. Learn more about the Foundation for
Healthy Communities at
www.HealthyCommunitiesOhio.org
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