The Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) recently awarded CentraState Healthcare System the Platinum Well Workplace Award for its innovative employee wellness program. CentraState is one of only a few hospitals in the country to achieve platinum-level status.
The Well Workplace Award recognizes organizations that have developed comprehensive wellness programs that are strategic, an integral part of their business, and have produced significant results. CentraState earned the award after successfully integrating the seven benchmarks of results-oriented programs and meeting rigid, worksite wellness criteria established by WELCOA.
Created for employees it self-insures, CentraState’s wellness program includes health risk assessments and biometric screenings, nutrition and fitness workgroups and education seminars, a wellness coordinator and personalized wellness plans. The goal is to help employees identify health risk factors while providing supportive wellness activities to help reduce those risk factors.
Over the course of 10 years, CentraState has developed and successfully implemented a comprehensive wellness program that not only has improved the physical and mental well-being of its employees, but also has helped the organization contain costs. In an economic environment where many nationwide employers have experienced double-digit percentage increases in health insurance costs, CentraState has contained health care expenses at a rate lower than the national trend over the past six years. CentraState’s wellness program has allowed for reinvestment of these savings into other programs that benefit its employees, including facility improvements, wage increases and education advancement opportunities. The wellness program has become ingrained in the hospital’s culture and strategic efforts.
“We are thrilled to have reached platinum-level certification from WELCOA,” says Harriet Samuels, director of health and wellness, Human Resources, CentraState Healthcare System. “The award is a testament to our unwavering efforts to keep our most valuable assets—our employees—mentally and physically healthy. We’re proud to be lauded as one of the nation’s healthiest companies.”
About CentraState
CentraState Healthcare System is a nonprofit community health organization consisting of an acute-care hospital, a health and wellness campus, three senior living communities, a Family Medicine Residency Program, and a charitable foundation. CentraState’s teaching program is sponsored by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
About The Wellness Council of America
The Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) was established as a national not-for-profit organization in the mid 1980’s. WELCOA is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of all working Americans. The WELCOA serves business leaders, workplace wellness practitioners, public health professionals and consultants of all kinds by producing leading-edge worksite wellness publications and health information; conducting trainings that help worksite wellness practitioners create and sustain results-oriented wellness programs and creating resources that promote healthier lifestyles for all working.