Georgetown, SC (PRESS RELEASE) -Top places to work offer more than a job and a paycheck. They’re intent on creating the best work environment possible, and that includes providing programs that promote health and wellness.
Tidelands Health’s commitment to employee partner wellness and fitness has earned a prestigious recognition for the fifth consecutive year from the American Heart Association.
Tidelands Health has been named a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite for helping employee partners eat better and move more.
“Being recognized as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite is quite an honor,” said Jan Harper, Tidelands Health senior vice president and chief human relations officer. “There’s no better benefit for employee partners than helping them have healthier, longer lives. Not only do fit-friendly programs benefit our employee partners’ health, but they also demonstrate to our patients and visitors that Tidelands Health is committed to health and well-being.”
Platinum-level employers:
▪ Offer employee partners physical activity options in the workplace
▪ Increase healthy eating options at the worksite
▪ Promote a wellness culture in the workplace
▪ Implement at least nine criteria outlined by the American Heart Association in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture
To enhance the health and wellness of its work force, Tidelands Health identified major diagnostic conditions and disease states that most impact employee partners and family members and developed a program to encourage employee partners to improve their health through exercise, better nutrition and quitting smoking. The initiative has resulted in better health and reduced health care costs for Tidelands Health and employee partners.
In addition, the cafeterias at Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital and Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital offer an array of healthy foods daily and post the nutritional content of items served. Both hospitals have walking trails and offer fitness classes, and all employee partners are encouraged to participate in quarterly wellness challenges that emphasize health and wellness activities, such as meditation and mindfulness, healthy eating and exercise. Employee partners also have access to weekly and monthly webinars on topics related to physical, mental and emotional health.
The Fit-Friendly Worksites program is a catalyst for positive change in the American work force by helping worksites make their employees’ health and well-being a priority.
According to the American Heart Association, U.S. employers are losing an estimated $225.8 billion a year because of health care expenses and health-related losses in productivity, and those numbers are rising. Employers face $12.7 billion in annual medical expenses due to obesity alone. The American Heart Association is working to change corporate cultures by motivating employees to start walking, which has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity.