Column: Ellen Kehr, Guest Column

The Freeborn County Worksite Coalition is built on partnerships, collaboration and a shared vision: To create a culture of wellness in the workplace. Freeborn County Statewide Health Improvement Program is collaborating with the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce and 20 worksites to build a comprehensive and sustainable worksite initiative that will bring financial benefits to our employers and long term health benefits to our employees.

Our initiative began with 20 worksites that were chosen from a diversified pool to reflect all sectors of our community. The companies chosen for the first phase of this initiative range in size from 40 to 1,300 employees and include city and county government, health care, K-12 and post secondary education, business and industry.

An employee survey approved by the Minnesota Department of Health was conducted and we received an astounding 1,750 responses! Clearly employees want to be engaged, and they had many great ideas concerning the workplace environment. These surveys served as a critical tool in building wellness action plans that could be tailored to the unique qualities of each worksite.

Companies created wellness committees, installed bike racks and basketball hoops, administered health risk assessments, changed vending machine options, offered discounted memberships to fitness and health facilities and much more. Together they shared ideas and resources while providing each other with a network of support.

On July 1, seven of these worksites will join four others in implementing a tobacco-free grounds policy, bringing the total number of individual worksites with tobacco-free grounds in Freeborn County to 21. This achievement surprises even us. It is a testament to what can be accomplished with strong partnerships and shared commitment.

To ensure that our efforts remain sustainable and our initiatives continue to grow, the Albert Lee-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce created a standing committee on worksite wellness. In March, the committee hosted a worksite roundtable and conference for area business and industry conducted by the President’s Network Roundtable and the Minnesota Department of Health. There were more than 60 attendees and the response from business and industry was overwhelmingly positive.

Today, that same committee is approaching completion of a worksite Wellness resource book that will be available to all businesses, large and small, who are interested in creating a culture of wellness in their workplace. They have accomplished much in just five short months and our initiative continues to grow.

In Freeborn County, we realize that our worksites are in a unique position to play a vital role in both encouraging positive lifestyle behaviors and driving health care costs down. Our employees spend 36 percent of their total waking hours at work. We all need a healthy workforce. Healthy employees cost less, are more productive and lead to positive economic development.

There is a high cost to not taking action. Many employers in Freeborn County have made a commitment to choose health and wellness for their employees and their companies over the $4.3 billion per year expense that obesity and smoking costs U.S. worksites per year in absenteeism and health-related issues. Freeborn County now has one of the strongest and most effective worksite wellness initiatives in the Minnesota. It is critical to all of us that it continue to grow in strength and numbers.

To create a culture of wellness in the workplace across all of Freeborn County is a vision that has no end. Good health will always be an investment in the future, and our employees will always deserve no less.

Below is a list of the companies and institutions that SHIP has worked with over the past year. The commitment that they have shown to worksite wellness and their willingness to share resources and work together to engage others has truly been an inspiration.

• City of Albert Lea

• Freeborn County

• Cargill

• Alamco Wood Products*

• Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen

• Lou-Rich

• Glenville-Emmons School District*

• Albert Lea Family Y*

• Chamber of Commerce

• Alliance Benefit Group*

• Trail’s Travel Center

• Interstate Packaging

• The Children’s Center*

• Mayo Clinic Health System*

• Albert Lea Area Schools*

• Albert Lea Select Foods

• Thorne Crest Retirement Community*

• Zumbro River Brand*

• Riverland Community College*

• Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services* (Tobacco-free grounds are indicated above with an asterisk).

Ellen Kehr is the Freeborn County SHIP coordinator.