Contact: Katherine Jones Phone: 319.892.6065 Email: katherine.jones@linncounty.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 27, 2013

Corridor Worksite Wellness Awards Uncover Areas of Improvement and Strength in Community A Model Program for Engaging and Assessing Worksites CEDAR RAPIDS, IA A record number of 54 worksites in Linn and Johnson counties participated in this years Corridor Worksite Wellness Awards. When the Linn County Board of Health first created the awards ceremony in 2009, only 13 worksites participated. The significant growth illustrates an increasing interest and excitement about worksite wellness. Participating worksites are assessed by members of the Corridor Worksite Wellness Committee, provided a score and report, and then compared with other worksites of a similar size. The assessment results highlight areas of improvement and strengths. The award program culminates with an award luncheon and panel discussion with winners from the previous year. For the first time in 2013, the event was held in collaboration with the Corridor Business Journals Annual Healthcare Summit, where over 300 Iowans were in attendance. An analysis of the assessment results showed many strengths in the worksites wellness programs. These strengths cover a wide range of different health topics, including nutrition, physical activity and tobacco. Around 80% of worksites offer a health screening service for their employees, many of which are free or onsite 93% of worksites have a policy regarding tobacco and/or smoking 96% of the worksites have designated smoking areas or do not allow smoking 98% of worksites sponsor physical activity opportunities for employees 94% encourage the provision of healthy foods and beverages at meetings or conferences. In addition, a comparison of the 22 worksites that participated in 2012 and 2013 showed that on average, the worksites scores increased 11%. Along with the strengths, the analysis found that many worksites lack policies to back up their wellness initiatives. The Corridor Worksite Wellness Committee and many experts encourage the adoption of policies because it helps ensure the wellness efforts last and policies have a larger reach than individually-focused initiatives. Only 24% of worksites had a policy that provided time to attend wellness programs 27% had a policy that supported new mothers

30% had a policy for responsible drinking at company events 37% had a policy for employee physical activity.

For healthy food, only 30% of worksites with vending machines had a written policy that their vending must offer healthy food and/or beverage options. Of those with a cafeteria, only 9% had a policy requiring healthy food preparation practices and only 45% required that healthy food options be offered. Another weakness identified was the lack of promoting tobacco cessation. Considering that the participating worksites already value wellness, it is likely that an even smaller percentage of worksites overall in Iowa have these policies. The Corridor Worksite Wellness Committee plans to address these weaknesses in the months between the 2013 and 2014 awards ceremonies. The awards process and ceremony are unique in Iowa and provide a model for other areas in the state that are interested in assessing and engaging worksites. Nominations for the next round of awards will be accepted beginning in October of 2013. For more information about the worksite wellness assessments, please email corridorworksitewellness@gmail.com or call 319.892.6065. ABOUT THE CORRIDOR WORKSITE WELLNESS COMMITTEE The committee consists of members from the Area Substance Abuse Council, CarePro Health Services, Corridor Business Journal, Health Solutions, Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence, Johnson County Public Health, Linn County Board of Health, Linn County Public Health, Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids, St. Lukes Hospital, and Wellness Iowa. The committee meets regularly to plan the Corridor Worksite Wellness Awards and oversee the assessment process. ###

Panel at the 2013 Corridor Worksite Wellness Awards. This panel consisted of representatives from the
2012 winners (Lil Drug Store Products, St. Lukes Hospital, The Gazette Company, Midwest Metal Products, and the Cedar Rapids/Linn county Solid Waste Agency) and was moderated by Gary Albers of CarePro Health Solutions. Photo source: Bill Adams (Bill Adams Photography) and the Corridor Business Journal.