EASLEY — Baptist Easley Hospital has been recognized by the South Carolina Hospital Association’s Working Well initiative for being one of the first organizations to achieve the Strategy for Wellbeing Platinum award for achieving excellence in workplace wellbeing and supporting optimal employee health.

Strategy for Wellbeing is an interactive, automated online tool designed to help employers implement best practices in employee wellbeing.

Baptist Easley Hospital achieved the recognition by earning Platinum status in all nine Strategy for Wellbeing dimensions of wellbeing: Wellness Culture, Risk Assessment and Outreach, Nutrition & Food Environment, Physical Activity, Tobacco Free, Emotional and Mental Wellbeing, Financial Wellbeing, Incentives and Communication, and Evaluation.

The Strategy for Wellbeing Platinum designation recognizes Baptist Easley Hospital’s commitment to creating a culture of wellbeing for their organization by making wellness part of their infrastructure and day-to-day operations as well as implementing a comprehensive approach that focuses on policy, systems, benefits and environment to support optimal health.

Baptist Easley Hospital was one of the first hospitals in the state to adopt a tobacco-free environment and offers healthier food options on all shifts and in meetings and an onsite exercise facility for employees at no cost to them.

“We’re thrilled that Working Well awarded Baptist Easley Hospital its first-ever overall Platinum award for workplace wellness,” said Todd Walker, president of the Easley Baptist Hospital Campus. “It’s a significant achievement for the hospital – but an even bigger triumph for our employees, patients and visitors who are the ultimate beneficiaries.”

Working Well helps employers develop a strategic plan to impact employee health and productivity by focusing on policy, systems and environmental changes, which are often low or no cost. Working Well aims to help employers create a sustainable culture of wellbeing by using effective, evidence-based best practices to create healthy work environments, a spokesperson said.

Research demonstrates that employees performing at optimal health can have a major impact on an employer’s bottom line by contributing to lower health care costs, less absenteeism, higher productivity and improved morale, they said. Healthy employees perform better and are more productive and more engaged than their unhealthy peers.

“This award recognizes Baptist Easley Hospital’s innovation and commitment to the health of their employees and the community they serve,” said Jen Wright, Working Well program director. “The team at Baptist Easley Hospital leads by example and understands that to continue to be successful in motivating lifestyle change, they must continue to enhance their employee wellness program and broaden their wellness programming to include new dimensions and areas of wellbeing.

“Working Well congratulates their efforts to successfully expand their employee wellbeing program to include all nine dimensions of wellbeing and continue to provide innovative ways to motivate their employees’ behavior change! Baptist Easley Hospital has set a high bar for the rest of South Carolina employers to meet,” she said.

For information on how to improve your worksite’s environment to better support employee wellbeing, contact Sara Grace Bailey, Working Well Corporate Wellness Specialist, at 803.744.3558 or sbailey@scha.org.

Working Well was founded through the support of The Duke Endowment and is managed by the South Carolina Hospital Association.

Baptist Easley Hospital has been recognized by the South Carolina Hospital Association’s Working Well initiative for being one of the first organizations to achieve the Strategy for Wellbeing Platinum award.
https://www.theeasleyprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_baptisteasley1.jpgBaptist Easley Hospital has been recognized by the South Carolina Hospital Association’s Working Well initiative for being one of the first organizations to achieve the Strategy for Wellbeing Platinum award. Courtesy photo

The Strategy for Wellbeing Platinum designation recognizes Baptist Easley Hospital’s commitment to creating a culture of wellbeing for their organization.
https://www.theeasleyprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_baptisteasley2.jpgThe Strategy for Wellbeing Platinum designation recognizes Baptist Easley Hospital’s commitment to creating a culture of wellbeing for their organization. Courtesy photo

By Kasie Strickland

kstrickland@championcarolinas.com

Reach Kasie Strickland at 864-855-0355.