Business Times of Edmond, Oklahoma February 2020 - Page 23

Free Worksite Wellness Training Offered for Employers
As a new year gets underway, many
Oklahomans will be resolving to lead
a healthier lifestyle. The Oklahoma
State Department of Health (OSDH)
is offering a free training program to
employers interested in creating or
improving a worksite wellness program to
improve the health of their employees.
The OSDH now has two facilitators
trained in the Work@Health ® program,
an initiative of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), which
recruits employers nationwide to
participate in the comprehensive training
offering evidence-based worksite wellness
programs. The goal of the training is to
provide employers with the knowledge
and skills to help address common and
costly employee chronic illnesses and
related conditions such as cancer, obesity,
high blood pressure, stress and arthritis.
Studies show having a healthy
workforce increases productivity and
reduces health care expenses. OSDH
facilitators Julie Dearing and Emily Hua
are providing technical assistance, tools
and resources to businesses across the
state who wish to implement or improve
a worksite wellness program.
“Creating a culture of health in the
workplace takes leadership across all
levels of an organization,” said facilitator
Dearing. “Small changes to organizational
practice can have big ripple effects.
Work@Health® brings employers
through a comprehensive assessment
and planning process to ensure employee
wellness programs are being implemented
to their fullest capacity, to work to bend
the cost curve and make the healthy
choice, the easier choice.”
The CDC reports the United
States spends $1.219 trillion each year
on medical costs, with 86% of that
stemming from chronic conditions
such as heart disease, stroke, arthritis,
diabetes and obesity. In addition to
improving employee health knowledge
and skills, worksite wellness programs
can promote healthy behaviors such
as regular screenings, follow-up care,
immunizations, and also create a culture
at work which can expand into other
areas of life.
To be eligible to participate in the
program, employers must have at least
20 employees, offer health insurance to
employees, have internet connectivity,
and have been in operation for at least a
year.
Businesses will receive a variety of
benefits including:
• A health and safety assessment
of the organization to define existing
needs and the capacity of the worksite
to implement health and safety
interventions to address those needs;
• Professional training via a blended
delivery model to learn how to develop a
worksite health intervention plan to meet
individual employer needs;
• Technical assistance and
community-support resources aimed
at giving employers what they need to
sustain their worksite health promotion
interventions beyond the program; and
• Recognition by the CDC as a
healthy worksite.
For more information about worksite
wellness or enrolling in the Work@Health ®
program, contact the OSDH Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion at 405-271-3619
or visit https://go.usa.gov/xpyrx.
Tenth District Energy Activity Dropped Further
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Federal
Reserve Bank of Kansas City recently
released the fourth quarter Energy
Survey. Chad Wilkerson, Oklahoma City
Branch executive and economist at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said
the survey revealed that Tenth District
energy activity dropped further and
expectations for future activity continued
to decline.
“District energy activity continued
to decrease through Q4 2019 and most
firms do not expect drilling activity to
pick up in the near-term,” Wilkerson
said. “However, slightly more firms expect
their cash flow to be higher next year
than expect it to be lower.”
The Kansas City Fed’s quarterly
Tenth District Energy Survey provides
information on current and expected
activity among energy firms in the
Tenth District. The survey monitors oil
and gas-related firms located and/or
headquartered in the Tenth District, with
results based on total firm activity. Survey
results reveal changes in several indicators
of energy activity, including drilling,
capital spending, and employment. Firms
also indicate projections for oil and gas
prices. All results are diffusion indexes
— the percentage of firms indicating
increases minus the percentage of firms
indicating decreases.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City serves the Tenth Federal Reserve
District, encompassing the western third
of Missouri; all of Kansas, Colorado,
Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming;
and the northern half of New Mexico.
As part of the nation’s central bank, the
Bank participates in setting national
monetary policy, supervising and
regulating numerous commercial banks
and bank holding companies, and
providing financial services to depository
institutions.
More information is available online at
www.kansascityfed.org.
February 2020 | The Business Times
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