Continued HealthWORKS for Durham Region
How the Region of Durham is making its employees healthier.

The HealthWORKS Brand
From the outset, the Region branded their wellness program as “HealthWORKS”.  
This program title is partnered with a recognizable logo and appears on all wellness communications distributed to Regional employees.  The Region’s successful promotional approach for the program includes posters, quarterly wellness newsletters, and electronic messages.  The Region recognizes the importance of inclusive communication which reaches out to all staff.

Diverse Wellness Initiatives Reach Everyone at the Region
Employees look forward to diverse program topics delivered through a variety of
program modalities.  With regard to individual health education, the Region offers many presentations and workshops, and personal health screenings are gaining in popularity.  Every spring, in conjunction with Health and Safety Week, the Region hosts a corporate-wide Fitness Challenge - an initiative that challenges employee fitness, teamwork and longevity.  Departments from all parts of the Region submit a team and compete against one another to see who can collect the most points awarded for daily exercise.  Over 530 employees signed up to exercise and compete.   

Another popular initiative, hosted annually during Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week, is
the Region’s Health and Wellness Fair.  This event attracts approximately 600 employees and provides education on the various health and wellness services available in Durham Region.  One participant remarked, “Excellent and useful information.  Excellent turnout! 
It was great to have the opportunity to gather all sorts of helpful information in one place.”

This past fall, the Region hosted a half-day mental health symposium to bring awareness
to the prevalence of mental health issues in the workplace - an event in which 100 departmental representatives attended. 

In 2007, the Region plans to incorporate additional screening programs that target cardiovascular disease education and prevention.  The goal is to make employees aware
of their own personal risk factors and educate them to make sensible changes.  Unfortunately, many people either cannot find a family physician or find the time to see their physician, and a worksite screening clinic offers absolute convenience for employees to receive a “check-up”.  The focus will undoubtedly maximize the intrinsic benefits of the wellness program for employees, as well as the financial return to the Region’s as an employer.

Durham Region Employees Appreciate Worksite Wellness
Over the past three years, the HealthWORKS Wellness Program has developed to the
extent that favourable changes in employee perception of organization culture have
been made.  The annual wellness interest survey finds that more employees know how
to access and receive health-related information at work.  Furthermore, a greater number
of employees recognize the Region’s efforts in worksite wellness and participate in wellness initiatives at work.  Ongoing worksite wellness has become a part of the organizational culture at the Region - a fact that contributes to the success of the program and the overall effectiveness of the Region, its people, its services and our community on the whole. 

   << return to previous page

>> back to top

>> back to latest news

This article was written by Sarah Abdelnour, a Senior Wellness Consultant at
Buffett & Company and is the property of Buffett & Company Worksite Wellness Inc. 

Any reproduction of this article, in part or in its entirety, without written consent from
Buffett & Company Worksite Wellness Inc. is strictly prohibited.
For permissions to reproduce this article, please contact Buffett & Company.