Somerset County has been named a finalist in the “Workplace Wellness Hero” category in the 2014 NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes awards program for health initiatives created and promoted by its Wellness Committee.
The award program, produced by NJBIZ, a New Jersey business news publication, is sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Hackensack University Medical Center, Comcast Business Class, New Jersey Hospital Association, WithumSmith+Brown, PC, Comcast Spotlight and MD Online.
The Healthcare Heroes awards program honors individuals and organizations making a significant impact on the quality of healthcare in New Jersey. Finalists were selected in 10 categories: Education Hero-Individual, Education Hero-Organization, Hospital of the Year, Innovation Hero, Healthcare Professional of the Year, Nurse of the Year, Physician of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Women’s Health and Wellness Hero and Workplace Wellness Hero.
“Since 2011, the Somerset County Wellness Committee has provided a positive impact on the health and well-being of county employees,” said Freeholder Director Patrick Scaglione. “With support from the Board of Freeholders and the county administrator, the Committee spearheaded a wide range of initiatives and training programs that motivate employees and introduce them to healthy lifestyles.
“Developing a culture of wellness reduces illness, increases productivity and reduces medical expenses. Since Somerset County is self-insured, all efforts toward developing healthy lifestyles can eventually result in lower insurance costs,” said Freeholder Scaglione. “More importantly, the programs are making for a healthier workforce. Employees possess tools and knowledge to keep up the momentum on their own, and, hopefully, through example, their families are making changes too. That is a win-win all around.”
The Employee Wellness Committee’s game plan includes sending daily email wellness tips, offering after-work programs in yoga, Zumba, line dancing, functional fitness and self- defense, starting a smoking cessation program and instituting a One Step Challenge, which encourages employees to make one minor health-related change to increase wellness.
The Committee has been successful in encouraging employees to form walking groups and training groups for runners at lunchtime and after work. The Committee also sponsors an annual employees’ health fair, which provides resources and ways to stay healthy.
In March, a major accomplishment was to form an alliance with community private non-profits to collaboratively host a 5K Race to Wellness at Duke Farms in Hillsborough at which county teams participated. More than 30 employees participated and 18 volunteered to assist on the day of the race. A total of 524 people registered to run.
Key to the outstanding success of the Wellness Program has been the five Get Fit Challenges open to all county departments throughout the year, which has resulted in successful weight loss. A notable success story involved the guards at the Somerset County Jail, who lost over 5 percent of their weight over eight weeks and signed up for the next Challenge.
In partnership with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Wellness Committee offered free biometric screenings in 2013 to employees to create a baseline measurement to help them set future goals. In April, HorizonBlue debuted a “Healthy Plate” concession stand at the TD Bank ball park, home of the Somerset Patriots. Since the Wellness Committee works closely with HorizonBlue to provide some of the Wellness Committee programs, county freeholders and employees were invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Thanks to the Wellness Committee, county employees are healthier and have tools to sustain a healthy lifestyle,” said Freeholder Scaglione.
Finalists and winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges, which included Jeff Brown, Affiliated ACOs at the NJ Health Care Quality Institute; Beverly J. Lynch, Advocacy and Management Group; Dean Paranicas, Healthcare Institute of New Jersey; and Wardell Sanders, New Jersey Association of Health Plans.
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The Healthcare Heroes awards’ finalists will be recognized and the winner in each category will be announced during a breakfast awards ceremony on June 24 at the Palace in Somerset Park in Somerset, New Jersey.
For more information about the NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes awards program or to reserve seats to the event, visit www.njbiz.com/events or contact Melissa Sullenberger at melissas@njbiz.com or (732) 246-5737.
For more information about Somerset County’s Wellness Committee and its programs, contact Linny Mahedy at (908) 231-7081 or Mahedy@co.somerset.nj.us or Yvonne Childress at (908) 203-6019 or Childress@co.somerset.nj.us.
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