Denver, CO – The Governor’s Council for Active and Healthy Lifestyles has selected five employers as finalists for the Governor’s Award for Worksite Wellness. The award will be presented at the Colorado Culture of Health Conference on April 9, 2015.
Liliana Tenney, Director of Health Links Colorado “When it comes to creating healthy environments, we looked for businesses that create supportive environments to promote healthy and safe employee behaviors. This award recognizes the achievements of businesses that are focused on healthy eating, physical activity, disease prevention, tobacco cessation, mental health and stress management.”
“These finalists are fantastic role models for employers who want to do more for their employees, their families, and communities.” Clayton Ellis, President of the Governor’s Council for Active and Healthy Lifestyles.
Health LinksTM is an evidence-based program founded at the Colorado School of Public Health that advises, certifies and connects businesses to health and wellness resources. Health Links selected the top scores from businesses that have become Certified Healthy Business Leaders in the last 12 months.
The five nominees were selected based on their score from their Healthy Business Certification application.
The application is scored on the following criteria:
- Leadership support for health and safety
- Assessment of employee needs
- Worksite wellness activities including tobacco control, nutrition, physical activity, disease prevention, maternal and child health, mental health,
- Safety policies and practices
- Communication to promote health and safety
- Program reach to off-site workers, temporary employees, and family
- Incentives to encourage program engagement
Hilltop Community Resources (647 employees) – Grand Junction, CO
Hilltop Community Resources has a robust and comprehensive workplace wellness program. With a wellness committee of 16 employees, they have been able to integrate health and safety, offer a variety of incentives and motivate 76 percent of their employees to engage in wellness activities. Hilltop has gone above and beyond offering health and safety to their employees by inviting their families to join. Whether sending out educational materials, hosting health fairs, or through fun challenges and activities for nutrition and physical activity, Hilltop is bringing wellness to work in exciting ways.
Sky Ridge Medical (1350 employees) – Lone Tree, CO
Sky Ridge Medical Center works hard to engage all of their employees. More than 80 percent of their employees engage with the wellness activities they offer and their wellness committee is making strides in integrating health and safety their policies and programs. Their program includes wellness celebrations, fun incentives to promote participation and access to many free resources that keep their employees engaged and motivated.
CoBiz Financial (250 employees) – Denver, CO
CoBiz Financial believes that healthy employees are more energized, engaged and dedicated to performance, thus pushing productivity to higher levels. The company’s ongoing education and resources provide employees knowledge of their personal health factors and opportunities to increase healthy behaviors for themselves and their families. This approach has resulted in an employee participation rate of 96 percent. CoBiz keeps things healthy and fun in the office, and also out into the community by participating in national events. They recently participated in “Dress in Blue” day in support of Colon Cancer Awareness Month.
East West Resorts (720 employees) – Beaver Creek, CO
East West Resorts works hard to make sure that their employees are healthy and safe as they work to create a fun place for tourists to visit. With a comprehensive wellness program and an integrated approach to health and safety, East West resorts is able to get 54 percent of their employees to participate in their wellness program. By including wellness and safety into trainings and by promoting community engagement, East West is leading the way in showing how health and wellness can be part of any business, no matter what type of industry, organization size or location.
Pinnacol Assurance (1350 employees) – Denver, CO
Pinnacol Assurance believes that having employees who are healthy is good for business. Healthy employees are generally happy, and when they are happy they provide outstanding customer service. This helps sustain and grow business. They’ve also found that wellness is rated as the top benefit for their employees, which helps with recruitment and retention. Just by stepping into their building, it’s obvious that wellness is incorporated into everything they do. From stairwells covered in children’s art (from the employees’ children) to standing desks, Pinnacol works hard to practice what they preach and they look forward to serving as a role model and mentor for other businesses, so they can help them learn from their successes.
About Colorado Governor’s Council for Active and Healthy Lifestyles:
Founded in 1975, the bipartisan Council is made up of governor-appointed members and numerous affiliated volunteers, who promote active and healthy lifestyles statewide. The Council is dedicated to making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation.
The mission of the Colorado Governor’s Council for Active and Healthy Living is to promote and support events and programs that encourage physical fitness, educate citizens on the lifelong benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle, and collaborate with government entities, schools, nonprofit associations,
businesses, and healthcare and fitness organizations to advance its vision. The Council is funded through private donations, registration fees, and merchandise sales, and receives no funding from the State of Colorado for Council activities and personnel. (www.coloradofitness.org)
The council relies on partnerships with organizations such as the Colorado Education Initiative and the Colorado Business Group on Health, which presents the Culture of Health Conference to raise awareness about the importance of an active and healthy lifestyle for all Coloradans. For more information about the conference visit: https://www.coloradocultureofhealth.org/
Employers (private, public, non-profit and government) interested in becoming a Certified Healthy Business can complete an application at Health Links Colorado (www.healthlinkscolorado.org).