Wicoicaga Otipi Community Center is located in Flandreau, SD on the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation. The Community Center has four departments: Recreation Program, Dakota Language Program, Education Program and the Tribal Day Care. The three programs work together on many events, such as Tiwahe “Family” Night, Basketball Open Gym, Teen Night, Lock-In’s, Powwows, Basketball Tournaments, Mother’s Day Potluck, Halloween and Easter Celebrations plus many more. Most events are open to the public, but the main participants are children from the age of newborns to 17 years.

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (FSST) Community Center was one of the 2017-2018 Healthier Vending & Snack Bar (HVSB) Grantees, a program through the South Dakota Department of Health.

The goal of the HVSB project is to implement policy, system, and environmental change to improve the food environment in worksites by making healthier choices more accessible, appealing, and affordable. The project requires snack food and drink items be categorized using the green, yellow, and red traffic light system known as the Munch Code and to make the calorie content for all items visible at the point of purchase.

At the start of the project, the Community Center offered two vending machines with the typical offerings; pop, chips, candy bars, and pastries. The vending machines are available to all four departments of the Community Center, which is about 20 employees. The vending machines are also used by program participants and the public including on average 20 children daily through the After-School Program. The children in the After-School Program were impacted the most by the HVSB project.

“It was cool to see the children willingly choose a healthier snack over a bag of Doritos. I feel this generation can be educated about nutrition and use that knowledge to make healthier, more informed decisions. Growing up for me, we weren’t educated or told not to eat those kinds of snacks. We can make that change.” ~ Sylvia Roy, FSST Recreation Coordinator

Challenges/Barriers: One of the biggest challenges was working with other departments in the building to implement a Healthier Vending policy, an unprecedented request. The Community Center is one of many buildings under the FSST. Others include the Police Station/Fitness Center, Tribal Historic Preservation Office, Tribal Office, Clinic, Elderly Complex, First American Mart, Tribal Courts, and the Housing Office. All entities fall under the FSST, so all policies must be approved system wide.

 Another challenge was ensuring the healthier products were purchased once placed in the vending machines.

Solutions:  The Healthier Vending policy is currently pending approval by the FSST. However, staff feel even without a policy, the changes will remain due to the positive reception by the children, elderly and the public.

The Community Center ensured sales of the healthier food and drink options by offering taste tests and creating an incentive program. The taste test was important to allow adults and kids the chance to try healthier options before purchasing. Many employees from the other departments and buildings joined in on the fun, which staff believe enticed the public to consider healthy snacks as a realistic and delicious option. Adults are often hesitant to use their money for a product they don’t know if they will like and kids can be hesitant to try new foods. Most that attended mentioned they weren’t aware of the healthy options before the taste test.

The incentive program was a huge hit with the kids! The incentive program kept track of participants’ choices during a set period. Participants of any Recreation Program had the opportunity to buy one snack and/or drink during each program. They rolled an over-sized die per purchase of a green or yellow item. This was recorded as their “points” for the purchase. The highest amount of “points” was awarded sneakers. The top six participants received a subway gift card. Every participant received a ‘FSST REC’ jump rope. The incentive program ran twice, since the children were so hyped to participate. Staff noted it was fun to see the kids so anxious about picking healthy snacks. Many of the children preferred the snacks over candy bars, even if they used their one choice for the day.

 “The winner of the incentive program was an underprivileged child who received Jordan sneakers. It was fun to see his face when he won!” ~ Sylvia Roy, FSST Recreation Coordinator

Results:  A big success was changing the advertising wrap on the outside of the pop vending machine from a Coca-Cola advertisement to Aquafina. Food marketing has a powerful impact on children. Positive, healthy advertising is important to reinforce healthy decision making.

By the end of the project, the percentage of green items in both vending machines increased from 4.9% to 17.9%, while the percentage of red items decreased from 85.4% to 61.5%. This shift was positive and statistically significant.

The HVSB project offers kids and adults the opportunity to purchase healthier food options, but also has shown a noteworthy impact on their nutrition knowledge through the Munch Code. The traffic-light system is an easy and quick way to educate individuals no matter their age or education level. Many people in the community were interested in learning about the Healthier Vending and Snack Bar Standards which determine if a product is green, yellow or red. The standards focus solely on information found on the Nutrition Fact label and was a great education opportunity to understand the nutrients, both good and bad, that make up foods. Especially highly processed, convenience foods often found in a vending machine. The Community Center employees heard many community members say they would take this information and apply it when shopping at the grocery store.

The Community Center plans to continue to educate and encourage the community to make healthy eating choices and plans to have a “Healthier Lifestyle Challenge” that will incorporate Munch Code.

“Your body deserves the best nutrition possible.
Make good choices for your mind, body, and spirit.”
~Sylvia Roy, FSST Recreation Coordinator

Winner City Hall is located in Winner, SD a town of approximately 2,800 people in the south-central part of the state. City Hall is responsible for the utilities, Human Resources, and financing with the City. The City has 6 full time employees stationed at City Hall. The City employs 80-year-round employees that frequently visit City Hall. The City also leases office rooms to seven other nonprofit and government agencies. Winner City Hall was one of the 2017-2018 Healthier Vending & Snack Bar (HVSB) Grantees, a program through the SD Department of Health.

The goal of the HVSB project is to implement policy, system, and environmental change to improve the food environment in worksites by making healthier choices more accessible, appealing, and affordable. The project requires snack food and drink items be categorized using the green, yellow, and red traffic light system known as the Munch Code and to make the calorie content for all items visible at the point of purchase.

At the start of the project, City Hall offered one vending machine with 19 typical vending food items including chips, crackers, cookies and candy bars. The vending machine is available to City Hall employees, employees from other businesses located within the same space, and approximately 30-40 people from the community who are in and out of the City building daily.

Challenges/Barriers: The biggest challenge was working with the vendor. Initially, the vendor was hesitant about stocking healthier snacks in the vending machines with concerns that sales would decrease and result in lost profit.

Solutions: The solution for vendor concern was promotions and incentives! The City bought promotion items using HVSB Grant funding to help sell the healthier products. Employees and customers were spending money and eating healthier for a chance to win one of the promotion items. For every green item that was purchased, the purchaser entered a monthly drawing. Each month there were two “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” prizes. The incentive program ensured sales were consistent for the vendor and after one year of project implementation, the vendor is still stocking healthier items due to great sales and high demand.

“It was fun to watch customers and employees get excited about healthier snacks. When customers would win a promotional item for choosing to eat a healthier snack, they got more excited about eating healthier as well! The City gave them the incentive to get started and they took it and ran with it!”
~ Chandra Cudmore, City of Winner Finance Officer~

Results: By the end of the project, the food vending machine offered healthier options including Sun Chips, granola bars, peanuts and trail mix. The percentage of green snack food items increased from 15.8% to 33.3%, while the percentage of red items decreased from 63.2% to 50.0%. In addition, a cold drink vending machine was added to the building offering 2-3 full rows of healthier drink options including water, tea, and 100% juice!

“Our success was immediate! We made a big deal out of eating healthier exciting our employees, customers, and renters to purchase healthier snacks.”

  Before….                                                                   After…

“Don’t be scared of change! Get involved! Take it a step further. In our office, we did a weight loss incentive at the same time the healthier vending machine project went live. This was another way to get employees excited about healthy snacks.”

The Boys and Girls Club of the Sioux Empire (BGCSE) provides developmentally appropriate programs to enable each child to grow intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially while becoming aware of their surroundings and their abilities. BGCSE applied for and received a WorkWell Mini-Grant through the South Dakota Department of Health to focus on the health and wellness of their employees that provide these important services. The goal of the grant is to provide South Dakota worksites with funding and resources to send a positive, supportive message and promote healthy lifestyles by preventing, reducing, and managing chronic disease through workplace environment and/or policy change.

The following is a WorkWell Grant success story written by BGCSE:

The WorkWell Grant allowed us to focus on three public health issues we felt most impacted our staff: mental health, reduction of stress, and obesity. These health issues were addressed through wellness challenges and educational information provided in the Wellness Corner of our staff monthly newsletter and posting health tips for staff and families to see. We varied our activities with both individual and team programs. Exercise and walking challenges were implemented to get people to purposefully think about the food they were eating or the activities they were engaging in. Our wellness program is open to all employees.

One of the biggest challenges was motivation. Getting employees to think about their health prior to a health crisis is difficult. Most employees understand the importance of healthy eating and exercising, but when it comes to putting that action in place, it is difficult to motivate people. To address this we tried to provide a variety of monthly wellness challenges. Our goal was to provide something for everyone, regardless of their level of health or motivation.

An interesting and unexpected outcome was quite a few people said they participated, but did not complete the tracking forms. They didn’t want to be recognized for doing something that they should be doing for their own betterment. Although we can’t track the progress from these individuals, we still consider their participation a step in the right direction.

The positive outcomes from the wellness program were illustrated on both a personal and environmental level. We received several positive comments from the staff regarding the wellness program as a whole and their appreciation of the effort to recognize healthy behaviors. From a facilitation perspective, it appeared that those who benefited most were employees who continually participated each month. They had the intrinsic motivation to make a change for themselves. Positive environmental outcomes were development and implementation of a Cancer and Health Screening Policy for our employees. The policy allows paid time off for these important screenings.

In the future, we plan to continue to utilize the monthly newsletter and personalize the Wellness Corner by highlighting a specific employees’ participation and how it has impacted their life. We will also continue to post health tips in our main locations for staff and families.

Our advice to anyone or any worksite interested in making changes to create a healthier worksite environment, don’t give up! Change is hard and people don’t always like to share their struggles or successes with you. If you impact even one person, then the project was worth it.

“Your health is a gift that most people take for granted. Be proactive in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It is much easier to make little steps along the way rather than needing to make drastic changes after a health scare or crisis.”
~ Vickie Venhuizen, BGCSE Grants Manager

The City of Mitchell (COM) employees are in multiple sites across Mitchell, SD. The worksite is vast and diverse with 189 full-time employees and hundreds of part-time employees. With the many different locations in the city, there are also multiple different job types.

The COM received the South Dakota Department of Health Steps to Wellness Grant to improve the physical activity environment in the worksite and implement a policy to support active employees. The COM set a goal to educate their employees on various wellness topics, and also provide opportunities for them to be active during the workday! The COM attempted multiple challenges and programs that weren’t successful, but after the Steps to Wellness Grant, they were able to implement a project that fit a lot of different locations and job types within their workforce.

Walking Route Signage and Employee Wellness Portal:
The COM developed and purchased wayfinding signage that displayed a 10-, 20- and 30-minute walking route to and from a starting destination. Signs were placed across the city at the different worksite locations, providing personalized walking routes with a start and ending point from their worksite. The wellness team felt that individual routes personalized to the employee location would create more buy-in and provide an easy opportunity to take advantage of the environmental support for physical activity.

The COM also created a tracking software that synced directly with QR codes on the signage, Get Active! App. The tracking App allows employees to log usage of the walking routes and have the information directly synced to the employer. Since the signs have been installed, the Get Active! App has morphed into a full-service wellness portal, with specific portals for preventative services, inter-department wellness challenges, and article generation for current wellness topics.

Additional Successes:
The general public in Mitchell has also started using the signs to map out their own walking/running/rolling routes and are embracing the idea of putting these up all over the city. The COM was able to establish a larger-scale wellness portal for employees through the start of the Get Active! App. The overall wellness portal is controlled by the COM worksite wellness
team and provides a direct form of communication to employees to serve as a platform to educate and motivate on various wellness topics and goals.

Challenges/Barriers:
The biggest barrier the COM faced was getting the initial buy-in from all the department heads located within their business, a few that didn’t fully understand the concept and goals of the project. The COM was able to communicate their plans and work through any questions about the project and successfully implement. With such a diverse workforce, the COM has struggled for years to come up with a wellness program that fits all their workers.

The COM plans to continue worksite wellness initiatives for their employees. They want to continue plans to educate, motivate, and innovate with their employees!

“Working with the South Dakota Department of Health was an easy, seamless process, filled with nothing but professional people who have the best interest of the worksites in mind.” 
~Thomas Gulledge, City of Mitchell Recreation Coordinator

The YMCA of Rapid City (Y) is a non-profit organization committed to helping families through programs focused on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The Y was one of 13 worksites in South Dakota chosen for the Healthier Vending & Snack Bar (HVSB) pilot project in July 2014.

The goal of the HVSB project is to implement policy, system, and environmental change to improve the food environment by making healthier choices more accessible, more appealing, and more affordable. The project requires snack food and drink items be categorized using the green, yellow, and red traffic light system known as the Munch Code and to make the calorie content for all items visible at the point of purchase.

The project was initiated by the staff wellness committee to improve food and drinks that were offered in the Youth Center. The Youth Center is most often used by kids ages 6-17, but is also used by Y staff and members after 2pm when the Courtyard Café closes. It is set up as a snack bar with products purchased, stocked, and sold by staff members. There is no outside vendor.

Challenges & Barriers:
An initial barrier was finding staff time to devote to planning, purchasing, categorizing, and labeling products. It also took time to find products that the kids wanted to eat and did not go to waste. Another challenge is staff turnover. Almost all of the staff that started on the project in 2014 are no longer working at the Y, requiring continuous re-training on the Munch Code standards.

Solutions:
Although some of the challenges seen at the start of the project with time constraints and staff turnover persist, the Y continues to train staff and devote time to ensuring healthier foods and drinks are made available to their youth.

Results:

The Y found that using point of purchase information through Munch Code signs and color-coded stickers and considering product placement and attractiveness were keys to enhancing sales of healthier items. During the process, Y members and parents would ask about the changes and seemed pleased to see healthier options available. Staff even witnessed people changing their minds and choosing a healthier option after noticing the Munch Code. Staff learned the importance of not making food purchases based solely on price, strategically placing green foods to increase sales, and using positive reinforcement when kids purchase healthier options. As an incentive, kids received a punch card for choosing healthier options. Mason (pictured right) was the first kid to fill up his punch card. He received a water bottle and healthy snacks as a prize!

“Kids will buy anything if they have money to spend. If we praised them for making healthier food choice and other kids heard that, then, they too would make healthier food choices to get praise.”
~ Nicole Craig, Wellness Director

Overall there was an increased awareness of the importance of creating a healthy, supportive environment. Staff brought in a few more green items and permanently removed some red items. One of the greatest achievements for the Y was the development of a rule that no one under the age of 18 could purchase soda!

Future Plans:
The Y’s goal is to continue to stock healthier options and to prioritize the time necessary to keep the youth, staff, and members motivated and excited. They also want to ensure all attending youth can recognize, read, and understand a basic food label.

The City of Huron’s Get Fit Committee applied for and received a WorkWell Mini-Grant through the South Dakota Department of Health. The goal of the grant is to provide South Dakota worksites with funding and resources to send a positive, supportive message and promote healthy lifestyles by preventing, reducing, and managing chronic disease through workplace environment and/or policy change.

The City of Huron has worked on a variety of projects through the WorkWell Grant opportunity. The following is a success story written by the Huron Get Fit Committee on their annual health fair:

The Annual Cancer Awareness Health Fair invites employees and their family members to participate and learn more about cancer and prevention. Booths are set up from a variety of different vendors including Huron Regional Medical Center and the Huron Clinic who have participated every year since its start in 2016. As a committee, our goal for the health fair is to reduce health insurance premiums by early detection so cancer is curable and the employee and family members can return to normal activities as soon as possible should cancer be detected.

Planning and development of the health fair included consideration of who will attend and what screenings they would want. We also considered if a recommendation is made for follow-up with their health care provider, will the employee or family member be committed to do so? We found that employees do understand the value of early detection and are seeking information and follow-up. A City of Huron employee first learned about abnormal results from a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood draw at the health fair which was later diagnosed as the early stages of prostate cancer. As word spread about the cancer diagnosis, many of the male employees over age 50 requested this test annually. By having it at the event, they do not have to pay a $25.00 office visit co-pay to see their doctor or take time off work to go into the clinic.

Some of the services and screenings offered in years past include full body skin cancer screening, bone density, breast cancer awareness, colorectal cancer kits, head, neck & throat cancer screening, lung cancer education, prostate cancer PSA screening, skin damage dermacan (face only), spirometer test, and tobacco cessation education.

Next year, we are looking at adding more health awareness issues including hearing, dental, and vision as well as a map to illustrate which vendors are there and what information and screenings they provide. The event is growing each year!

“We take pride in offering an opportunity for employees to focus on their own personal health.”
~Shanna Sterrett, City of Huron Executive Secretary/IT Coordinator

Catholic Social Services (CSS) is a multi-faceted social services agency that provides behavioral health services in all 22 counties of western South Dakota. CSS applied for and received a WorkWell Mini-Grant through the South Dakota Department of Health. The goal of the grant is to provide South Dakota worksites with funding and resources to send a positive, supportive message and promote healthy lifestyles by preventing, reducing, and managing chronic disease through workplace environment and/or policy change.

The following is a WorkWell Grant success story written by CSS:

CSS used its WorkWell grant funding to address staff challenges when working in the high-stress fields of mental health, poverty-reduction, and substance abuse. The agency offered staff educational presentations on various physical, mental, and spiritual health topics throughout the year at monthly employee gatherings that typically lasted for 30 minutes. These presentations were followed by individual commitments from employees to practice or implement the new techniques in their daily lives for the coming month. These practices ranged from physical activity and fitness challenges, dietary changes, stress-reduction techniques and more.

Some key components of the wellness and self-care education were:

1.  Self-care webinar for mental health providers
2.  Improving brain health through nutrition and exercise
3.  Office yoga demonstration
4.  Aromatherapy and chair massage
5.  Desk and work station ergonomic assessments
6.  Guided meditation for stress relief
7.  Journaling for emotional and spiritual health
8.  Spinal/chiropractic health
9.  Lakota spirituality beliefs
10.  Fit 150 Challenge (150 minutes of physical exercise per week)
11.  0 to 60 Water Challenge (consume 60 ounces of water per day)

Three CSS employees reported significant decreases in weight, A1C diabetes levels, and other health improvements that they attribute to their participation in the WorkWell activities. One individual lost 22 pounds and saw her A1C levels drop to within normal range and eliminated a diagnosis of prediabetes!

This wellness project created a more cohesive staff. It improved team work and communication between individual employees and whole departments as staff were sharing exercise regimens, encouraging dietary changes, and trying new self-care techniques as a team.

The Pierre Public School District’s worksite wellness program GovWell applied for and received a WorkWell Mini-Grant through the South Dakota Department of Health. The goal of the grant is to provide South Dakota worksites with funding and resources to send a positive, supportive message and promote healthy lifestyles by preventing, reducing, and managing chronic disease through workplace environment and/or policy change.

There are five schools in the Pierre Public School District including three elementary, one middle school, and one high school. The WorkWell Grant was utilized to improve the wellness program and implement a variety of health challenges, events, exercise classes, educational sessions, and informative resources. All staff in the district were welcome to participate – principals, teachers, custodians, food service staff, teachers aids, etc. Often times in a school district staff from different buildings do not interact. The GovWell program brings staff from various school buildings together and created competition and comradery throughout the district.

The GovWell planning committee included the School Nutrition Director as the lead coordinator, a representative from each school building, and was open to any others who were interested in participating in the planning and promotion. The team only met twice during the school year but was in constant communication through email. The GovWell committee found a variety of challenges with planning, organizing, and implementing the wellness program. Logistical challenges included determining staff needs, scheduling and timing of activities, effective communication for adequate promotion and involvement, creating user-friendly tools and resources, and tracking progress. To help address some of these challenges a survey was conducted to determine impact, satisfaction, and receive feedback and ideas for improvement. A new communication plan was also formed. In the future, each school building representative will be responsible for communication within their building as opposed to one person reaching out to all staff whom they may or may not personally know or see on a daily basis.

A school district can be a high stress environment that leaves little time for staff to focus on their own health and wellness. However, these logistical and everyday challenges combined with multiple staff battling cancer or other chronic diseases, opened the doors for a wealth of worksite wellness opportunities.

The four quarters in the school year were divided into four wellness areas: nutrition and weight management, physical activity, financial and stress/emotional wellness, and cancer and disease prevention. Activities were created to address each of these areas including a steps challenge, biggest loser challenge, yoga classes, general exercise classes, water challenge, nutrition/cancer prevention educational session, diabetes education session, health screenings, flu shot availability, a New Years resolution tool, and informational newsletters. 100 staff members participated in different areas of the wellness program. Many focused on physical activity and nutrition as they know these two things will prevent chronic disease.

The positive results were seen on both a personal and system-wide level. Each school building created a healthier environment whether it was healthier snacks at meetings, bringing in less unhealthy foods to the staff break rooms, or challenging each other to be healthier. The end-of-year survey found 38% of participants were very satisfied, 33% satisfied, 24% neutral, and 4% not satisfied with GovWell that school year when surveyed. This showed an overall positive impact as 71% of staff reported being satisfied or very satisfied! The survey also found almost half of the participants exercised more and drank more water, 40% ate healthier and focused more on self-care, and 1 in 4 lost weight!

“The buzz that the challenges created in our school buildings was infectious. Wellness when done as a team is powerful.” ~Liz Marso, School Nutrition Director

The next steps for the GovWell team are to dig into the data from the survey and improve next years program based on that feedback. It is a priority to ensure the staff knows their input is heard and valued. Offering more online educational sessions versus in-person, continuing the weight loss and steps challenge, adding more challenges as this was an area of high interest and engagement, and to continue having personal trainers come to the school to do group fitness were all determined from survey feedback. The long term goal is to increase participation and continue to build and create a wellness program that is an important part of working for the Pierre School District.

Administrative support and buy-in are key components to a successful and sustainable wellness program for any type of business or worksite. The Pierre School District has solidified that support and the district has agreed to take on funding the program moving forward!

Black Hills Surgical Hospital is a physician-owned hospital located in Rapid City. Their mission is to be the leader in providing the highest quality healthcare, recovery care, and diagnostic imaging services in an environment that is safe, convenient, and comfortable for the patients, their families, employees, and the healthcare practitioners who use the facilities. Black Hills Surgical Hospital applied for and received a WorkWell Mini-Grant through the South Dakota Department of Health. The goal of the grant is to provide South Dakota worksites with funding and resources to send a positive, supportive message and promote healthy lifestyles by preventing, reducing, and managing chronic disease through workplace environment and/or policy change.

The following is Black Hills Surgical Hospital’s success story about their employee garden:

The focus of our WorkWell Grant was to develop an employee garden to encourage healthy eating by allowing our employees the opportunity to grow fresh herbs and vegetables and provide them to their families. The whole thing was a learning experience for everyone involved. From building the above-ground plots, to plowing for the in-ground plots, learning how to plant and what to plant together, and how to take care of the garden through the growing season.

We had a small committee that helped build the gardens and a few master gardeners that took the time to help those less comfortable with gardening. The project started in January with planning the design and determining when and how to build. We came up with designs and two possible locations. One in-ground and one above-ground plot. Luckily, our executives agreed to match the grant funds we received and we were able to do both locations.

We first designed the above-ground gardens and figured out what supplies we needed and then what was needed for the in-ground gardens. We purchased the wood and started building the above-ground gardens at our main hospital location. At the same time, a couple employees with big tillers started tilling up the area where the in-ground gardens would be at our business office. Once construction was done, we laid out the plots.

Employees could sign-up for a designated plot in the garden. At our main location (above-ground plots), employees could get a 4’x5’ plot and do plants that weren’t “viney” (squash, cucumbers, beans, etc). At our business office (in-ground plots), employees could have a 10’x10’ plot and could plant anything they wanted. Employees were asked to sign a simple contract with their plot as a form of accountability. We easily filled up all but 3 of our in-ground plots and those were going to be used by the company to plant pumpkins to use for staff at Halloween. Planting begun by employees who also brought their families out to learn and grow things.

The project was done in May in time for planting and grew all summer. The committee met frequently in the beginning to plan and prepare, but only a couple of times during the growing season. Employees with gardening knowledge stepped up to help out in a huge way. From giving advice to new gardeners and putting on classes, to recommending the best way to do fencing and water. Not many employees offer free garden plots to employees to grow their own food. Having our CEO and CFO behind us and encouraging us was a huge help! Employees loved the opportunity and we have many more that want to join in.

Our biggest barrier was getting water to the business office plot, but our employer was gracious enough to provide this at no cost for us. Other barriers were issues with animals that got in and ate the vegetation or employees that left during the growing season. Next year we will make some advancements to the in-ground plots to keep the animals out.

Our plots have been a huge success. One of the most exciting deliverables was the crops we had grown! We were able to produce pumpkins, corn, peppers, zucchini, squash, and the tomatoes were abundant. The pumpkins were used at our Urgent Cares for kids who came in close to Halloween. They were able to pick out a pumpkin and take it home.

It was incredibly gratifying watching employees soak in the knowledge from our master gardeners and the excitement when they picked their crops and shared the photos. Our executive group had fun watching the crops grow outside of their windows and taste testing fresh veggies right from the vine. We are blessed to have a company that not only allowed us to start this project but also supplied the water for us to use.

We will continue our employee garden each year and plan on expanding the in-ground garden next year. We are excited to see how it turns out!

Our advise for other businesses…
“If you are thinking about starting a garden, just do it! Employees will be grateful and the gratification from seeing the crops grow and eating the fresh food is immense.”
~Kathy Lees, Black Hills Surgical Hospital Wellness Coordinator

Central Farmers Cooperative/FREMAR, LLC (Central Farmers Coop) is an agricultural based company that provides products, services and market access in the areas of agronomy, feed, grain, and petroleum. Central Farmers Coop applied for and received a WorkWell Mini-Grant through the South Dakota Department of Health. The goal of the grant is to provide South Dakota worksites with funding and resources to send a positive, supportive message and promote healthy lifestyles by preventing, reducing, and managing chronic disease through workplace environment and/or policy change.

The following is a WorkWell Grant success story written by Central Farmers Coop:

One of the challenges that our project addressed was keeping active during the workday. With our 12 locations, and several sites within these locations, it became a challenge to motivate and keep our employees active, especially those who have mostly sedentary jobs. We promoted taking the stairs or walking around the office or building by using posters and emails.

We also decided to address the bigger issue of sitting all day. Approximately 25% of our employees have sedentary roles based on their job description. We asked a local printer to make accordion-fold cards that contained eleven desk stretches. The cards were small and could sit on the desk as a gentle reminder to take activity breaks throughout the day.

Even though we felt the cards would help, we wanted to take it a step farther. We purchased an adjustable height desk for our employees to test. After a few weeks, we did a survey to see if those participants felt it increased their productivity, reduced their fatigue, etc. With a lot of positive feedback, our committee approached our manager with the results. With management support, we were able to purchase three more adjustable height desks, and place them in our office spaces. A random drawing was done to determine who would receive the desks as there were more requests than could be fulfilled!

With buy-in from upper management and input from our Human Resource and Office Manager, we now have a plan in place to replace old desks with adjustable height desks. We hope that in the future, we will be able to acquire at least one additional desk per year!

“I really enjoy the sit-stand desk! Whenever I use the stand mode, I always feel more productive and it breaks up the tightness I get in my hips when I sit all day. Once spring really gets going, I anticipate using it even more.”
~Central Farmers Coop employee that received a standing desk

The Black Hills Special Services Cooperative (BHSSC) mission is to build stronger communities by helping individuals and organizations reach their full potential. BHSSC accomplishes this by providing innovative and comprehensive services in education, training, and employment. These services are delivered through six organization divisions: Community and Family, Developmental Disabilities, Economic Development, Education and Workforce, Human Services, and Technology & Innovation in Education (TIE).

The Pierre office of BHSSC applied for and received the Healthier Vending and Snack Bar (HVSB) Grant in July 2016 through the South Dakota Department of Health. The goal of the HVSB grant is to implement policy, system, and environmental change to improve the food environment by making healthier choices more accessible, more appealing, and more affordable. The project requires snack food and drink items be categorized using the green, yellow, and red traffic light system known as the Munch Code and to make the calorie content for all items visible at the point of purchase.

Prior to applying for the grant, Pierre BHSSC had no vending machine or snack bar, just a small refrigerator for all staff to share. There was a vending machine in the past, but due to the vending company’s unwillingness to offer healthy options and inability to keep the machine well stocked, it was decided to get rid of the machine. Fresh fruit was available for a short period of time for purchase through the honor system. It was well received at first, but then stopped getting utilized.

When staff was informed about the grant opportunity there was a tremendous amount of support. With new staff joining the office the environment began to change and health became a higher priority than in years past. Leadership staff was also supportive and a small wellness team came together to plan for and create a healthy snack bar! The team conducted an employee survey and taste tests in an effort to determine the most popular products to offer. They also implemented a Healthier Vending & Snack Bar Policy to sustain their hard work!

Challenges:  The Pierre office only has fifteen staff so there were concerns about sustaining the snack bar. Without a vendor, BHSSC purchased items locally and at a higher cost. Another barrier was the concern of competition with a convenience store across the street from the office and the time it would take for staff to purchase and stock the snack bar.

Solutions: To address some of these issues, the wellness team surveyed the employees to find out which items they would purchase. Bulk purchasing helped to lower the cost and provided the ability to sell at a more reasonable price. Several taste tests were conducted to make sure staff was interested in the items that were offered and staff from other offices in the same building were invited to participate. BHSSC shares the first floor of their building with two other organizations, totaling twelve additional staff that can access the healthy snack bar.

A “credit” option was also made available in the event that staff didn’t have cash available. Note cards are used to track purchased items and then staff are sent an email notification regarding their “bill” for the month. This works well when employee’s children stop by the office and want a snack also! Products are offered at a reasonable price with a small markup so there are funds available to purchase items to replenish the snack bar.

Results: The snack bar was self-sustained within 9 months, eliminating the need to seek additional funding to continue operation! The snack bar has approximately 50% green, 30% yellow, and 20% red snack food and drink items. Green items include fresh fruit and vegetables that a traditional vendor may not have been able to offer. The snack bar also provides the ability to tailor purchases upon staff request and purchase a variety of sizes and containers that do not need to fit within the constraints of a vending machine.

“Having the healthy vending program in our office has helped me to make improved calorie choices. The clear green, yellow, and red labels with calories posted have helped me stop and think before making my choice.”  ~ Cruz Lotz, BHSSC Administrative Assistant

Future Plans: In the future the wellness team plans to continue to increase green choices and continue to survey employees to get their feedback on which items to offer. If there are extra funds, the team hopes to purchase upgrades for the employee breakroom based on feedback from employee surveying.

“We had a very positive experience with the grant opportunity.  I would encourage others to give this a try.  Although we take care of all aspects of the snack bar, this has not been a time burden for any one person.  A team approach definitely helps!”
~ Brooke Lusk, Human Services Division Director

Wurth Electronics Midcom, headquartered in Watertown, was chosen as one of 10 worksites in SD for the Steps to Wellness Pilot Project in 2014 receiving grant funds to implement policy, system and environmental change to increase physical activity at work. A Steps to Wellness Committee was formed of volunteers from various departments within the organization to determine how to implement the Steps to Wellness Project and continue wellness efforts.

We were in the fortunate position of already having a space allowed for physical activity and management supportive of healthy initiatives. However, the space was not specifically designated for exercise and was shared with maintenance and storage. There was no formal commitment to provide a space for physical activity so there was concern that as the company grew this space would be used for other purposes.

The Steps to Wellness pre-assessment survey confirmed that employees would exercise if given a more inviting exercise space with changing rooms and cushioned flooring to allow for exercise that the current concrete flooring did not. The committee utilized grant funds to create a separate, designated Exercise Room. Walls were put up and painted with bright colors and the space included changing rooms, addition of a window and rubber flooring. The changes solidified that the space was intended for physical activity and to ensure it would not be re-allocated for other purposes, a Wellness Policy was approved and put into place. We had a Ribbon Cutting and Open House and have since been promoting the use of the Exercise Room to support employee health and wellness.

We have seen a significant increase in use of the Exercise Room. A survey assessed usage for one week in April and one week in November. The result was a 160% growth in use! All employees were affected but specifically those who were not able to use the area before the flooring was installed. More employees use the exercise room because it is now an inviting space. In addition, the parking lot was striped to designate a walking path that allowed employees to do laps around the parking lot without having to go between cars or out on the road.

The project was successful because employees were willing to serve on the Steps to Wellness Committee. They gave their ideas, their time, and were even willing to paint walls! Approval of the project by Wurth Electronics Midcom’s President was a key component to success. Throughout the project Nikki Prosch, SDSU Extension Health and Physical Activity Field Specialist, was there to support us, answer questions, and be our cheerleader.

“The Steps to Wellness Project was the catalyst. Without it nothing would have changed.” ~ Lynne Forbush, Wurth Electronics Midcom

Is your worksite interested in making improvements that encourage physical activity during the work day and implementing a physical activity policy that supports healthy work environments? Click HERE for more information about the Steps to Wellness Workplace Physical Activity Grant.

The challenge for our project was finding the perfect adjustable workstation that was affordable. With a limited amount of funding through the 2015-2015 South Dakota Department of Health WorkWell Mini-Grant, we wanted to be able to purchase as many workstations as possible. We also wanted to make sure they were easy to operate and ensure employees are using them throughout the day.

We were able to get buy-in from managers who dipped into their budgets to purchase adjustable workstations for their employees who had tried out the ones purchased with the grant money and wanted one. With the grant money we were able to purchase five workstations and managers purchased an additional five.

The departments that sit the most and don’t have a lot of freedom to get up and move throughout the day have benefited the most. Those departments are Human Resources, Customer Service and Purchasing. All of the HR department and Customer Service department employees now have adjustable workstations and half of the purchasing department has them. Frequently throughout the day you will see these employees standing and working at their desks. Several other departments have at least one adjustable workstation with several others hoping to be purchased this year if budgets allow.

Since the project started we have stressed to our office employees the importance of physical activity throughout their day. Employees have become more interested in not only being active at work, but in eating right and losing weight. From January through the middle of February our wellness committee promoted a weight loss challenge that had 44 employees participate in. Over the course of those six weeks, employees lost a combined total of almost 300 lbs. More employees are seen walking on their breaks than ever before and many have purchased FitBits and are challenging each other to see who gets in the most steps in a week.

The goal of this project was to combat “sitting disease” among our office employees. Human Resources and the wellness committee developed a plan on how we could raise awareness of this disease and promote activity throughout the day.

Through PowerPoint presentations, posting flyers and an onsite talk from the local physical therapist, we were able to keep the message fresh in our employee’s minds each quarter. The message was also enhanced by the wellness committee sponsoring the weight loss challenge in January/February.

The adjustable workstations were purchased in May and June and everyone who wanted to try one out was given that opportunity. A short seminar was conducted in July by the local physical therapist on the dangers of sitting disease. Over the course of the next three quarters, online training and surveys were conducted.

Our short-term goal is to increase the amount of time employees use their workstations throughout the day. It will be important for employees who have them to put reminders in their calendars so they remember to get up throughout the day. The long-term goal will be to increase the number of adjustable workstations in the workplace so everyone has the opportunity to stand at their desk.

Convincing and inspiring them to get started is the toughest part. It is an important role of HR and the wellness committee to continually remind employees of the importance of getting physical activity throughout their day.

Horton, Inc – Britton

The value of “employee health” at Voyage Federal Credit Union is something that didn’t mean much prior to 2010; but it has changed quite a bit since 2013 -– all for the better! Employee health and well-being has become quite successful over the past several years at our organization including a complete change of our mission, values and name to how we think and offer well-being to our employees.

We knew we wanted to provide something extra and different for our employees. We knew we did not have all the “big bank” opportunities but we knew a “small bank” feel could make a bigger impact. In 2012 we were fortunate to learn about the South Dakota WorkWell Mini Grant and how that could help us impact our employees’ well-being with education, resources, opportunities and a partnership. We applied for the grant and are happy to say we were awarded funds to support our mission and values then and we are still recipients of the grant today – four years later!

When we started in 2013 we knew it was our employees that mattered and we needed to learn from them what they wanted. Surveys and a wellness team that was dedicated to success uncovered activities, incentives and education that were warranted and wanted. We took advantage of the great community in which we live and partnered with wellness centers, personal gyms, health advocates and people that had the same values we did and provided education in a group setting along with team building activities that keep our employees engaged. Drawings and incentives were used for participation and leaders kept everyone headed in the same direction. The one thing we wanted was more involvement. We also were not afraid of change and to ask for feedback. Feedback told us we need to focus more on the individual; they wanted to know more about their health and well-being so that is when our program took a more personal approach with biometric screenings, health risk assessments and the opportunity to visit with a health coach annually. Our participation jumped to 60% and the conversations changed! We then knew what challenges to have, what education to bring our employees and what resources we needed to have available. We created and a launched our FITbit initiatives. Challenges could be tracked using your FITbit and Voyage awarded monies to help offset the cost of the FITbit. They were successful!

In 2015, taking care of our employees’ well-being became part of our CULTURE! Our snacks changed, our break activities changed, we got to know our neighbors and it began to feel different. We didn’t lose sight of what our employees wanted which was the individual spin, and because of the WorkWell grant we didn’t have to lose that. Screenings, the HRA and coaching remained consistent, and this year they were able to compare numbers which was a lot of fun. We also know that we can’t lose sight of employee feedback and the need to keep it fresh. We can’t let it get pushed to the back burner and it is something we talk about monthly as a group. This year we went all out and listened to our employees and now have an online portal that brings all our well-being information together. Our individual health record for the past couple years is housed there, challenges are pushed forward monthly with a mix of group and individual activities and we have a variety of resources for education. We still have our struggles, but now we watch for them and address them right away. We will be doing one-on-one education for those employees that want to know a little more about the online portal and how to utilize it to its fullest potential. Our screenings and coaching visits are coming up in June, and we just wrapped up our involvement in the Big Squeeze (a huge community event focused on the risks of high blood pressure). Our next challenge coming up is a 10,000 step challenge which will involve our FITbits. This was a company-supported opportunity a couple years back and we continue to stay committed and engaged. This is our VOYAGE!

Sencore, a video broadcast equipment supplier and manufacturer in Sioux Falls, recognized primarily sedentary behaviors in its staff. Sencore knows the impact that physical activity has on its employees and wanted to create an environment that offered physical activity opportunities during the workday. In 2014, Sencore applied for and received a South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH) Steps to Wellness Workplace Physical Activity Grant. The goal of this project was to provide the resources and support to increase physical activity. Human Resources and the wellness team were a crucial part in all steps of the project. Staff gave input and feedback as well.

Challenges:

The first challenge Sencore identified was getting leadership engaged with this project. Their engagement was key to the success of the project. It was important that at the start of the project, everyone was on the same page and that there were continued progress updates given to all individuals involved. Other challenges were space and time. The wellness committee knew what they wanted, but needed to find an area that would work and get approval from the organization. They wanted to make the most of the DOH Steps to Wellness grant dollars, so that meant employees giving their time to get things started and accomplished. The key to overcoming all of this was patience and persistence.

Solution:

A department manager had extra work space and was willing to let the wellness committee reconfigure it to make it work as a physical activity area. This showed that the department was committed to making this project succeed. Sencore provided indoor bike racks, a physical activity area, and an outdoor basketball hoop. The new areas designated for physical activity are available to all employees and impact the health of individuals and Secnore as a whole. They also developed a walking map to encourage employees to walk during their breaks or conduct walking meetings. A plan to promote physical activity is also in place.

Results:

Teamwork was a huge part of getting this project completed, and all of the wellness team members chipped in to help get things done. Since the project started, Sencore has shown its employees that the organization knows the importance of physical activity.

“Sitting disease” is common and with most of the workforce sitting the majority of the day, employees received the message that getting up and moving is important. Sencore’s dedication to encouraging physical activity at work is now included as a wellness policy in the handbook.

Successes:

By putting a timeline in place, sticking to the budget and keeping management involved, Sencore finished the project in less than six months. Sencore has noticed improved morale and increased energy and positive feelings among its employees. After installing the indoor bike racks, a couple individuals who cannot bike to work brought their bike so they could bike during breaks and lunch. Sencore even incorporated games using the new basketball hoop in their annual Sencore Olympics.

2014 Timeline
March – Brainstormed with wellness committee on wellness grant project
April – Met with CEO for approval
May – Finalized budget and announced plans to employees
June – Installed basketball hoop
July – Reviewed grant budget and put up active area walls
August – Installed flooring and completed painting
September – Installed bike racks and added equipment to active area

Next Steps:

The wellness committee plans to build from the project’s initial success. Sencore will focus on continuing to support physical activity and encourage all employees to use the active area. The wellness team will play an important role in promoting and using the area. One goal is to get managers directly involved, not just by saying, but by doing. Additional funding is always helpful as sometimes that can be the roadblock to moving forward with ideas and plans.

Sencore’s short term goals include seeing increased usage of the new active area and engaging employees who may not normally participate in physical activity at work. Supporting and encouraging employees to bike to work or go biking on their lunch hour will also continue. Their long term focus is to outgrow the active area and have a need for more space for a fitness center that gives employees multiple options to get physical activity at the workplace.

To achieve the above goals, Sencore will put an emphasis on the importance of physical activity. This requires education and creativity to keep employees engaged. The committee will continue to promote the new active area and basketball hoop by designing physical activities for employees to participate in. Sencore’s biggest piece of advice for anyone looking to start a project is to get feedback from all employees. For the project to be a success, employees need to feel like a part of it and that their interests are taken into consideration when moving ahead when implementing something that affects them and their collective workplace.

Is your worksite interested in making improvements that  encourage physical activity during the work day and setting up a physical activity policy that supports healthy work environments? Click HERE for more information about the Steps to Wellness Workplace Physical Activity Grant or contact us at sdsu.betterchoicesbetterhealth@sdstate.edu.

SUMMARY

The South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) partnered with worksites from all over the state to promote and increase access to workplace wellness programs through the Steps to Wellness Workplace Physical Activity Grant. Employers across the state were provided trainings and resources to help set up worksite wellness policies that support healthy work environments. With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 18 worksites made improvements that now encourage physical activity during the work day. These changes benefit more than 2,800 employees in South Dakota.

CHALLENGE

Working adults spend a significant amount of time at the workplace. Often, much of that time is spent physically inactive. Inactive adults have a higher risk for early death, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and some cancers. In 2014, South Dakota had a 30% obesity rate among residents and an additional 35% were overweight, according to Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance (BRFSS) data. Because a majority of adults spend much of their time at work, worksite wellness programs have the potential to influence health and prevent disease.

SOLUTION

DOH worked with partners to provide employers (e.g., trucking, law enforcement, insurance) across the state with educational resources and trainings on worksite wellness strategies. The health department shared two key resources with employers—CDC’s Steps to Wellness: A Guide to Implementing the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans in the Workplace Toolkit and South Dakota’s Model Worksite Physical Activity Policy. Both resources provide a framework for creating a worksite culture that supports health, and encourages employees to be more active during the work day. Guidance includes allowing employees time for physical activity during the work day and allowing flexible work schedules.

RESULTS

As of 2016, 20 worksites set up wellness policies to support worksite physical activity for employees. Improvements include built environment changes such as signage for indoor and outdoor walking paths, visually appealing healthy stairwells to encourage use during business hours, and installation of bike racks for employees to bike to and from work. Worksites also made provisions to work schedules, allowing paid time during the work day or week for physical activity. Self-reported pre- or post-survey data showed a statistically significant increase in the amount of time spent engaged in moderate aerobic physical activity (e.g., walking briskly, light cycling)—85 minutes per week pre-survey and 104 minutes post-survey. All 20 worksites received technical assistance and trainings on physical activity strategies and policies.

1.      Aurora County; Plankinton, SD
2.      Horton Inc.; Britton, SD
3.      Mills Property Management; Brookings, SD
4.      Northern Hills Training Center; Spearfish, SD
5.      Sencore; Sioux Falls, SD
6.      South Dakota Developmental Center; Redfield, SD
7.      Wurth Electronics Midcom Inc.; Watertown, SD
8.      Howalt+McDowell, Marsh & McLennan Agency; Sioux Falls, SD
9.      Kingsbury County; DeSmet, SD
10.    Community Health Center of the Black Hills; Rapid City, SD
11.    Plankinton USDA Service Center; Plankinton, SD
12.    West Hills Village; Rapid City, SD
13.    Black Hills Works; Rapid City, SD
14.    Brookings Health System; Brookings, SD
15.    Dakotacare; Sioux Falls, SD
16.    City of Sioux Falls; Sioux Falls, SD
17.    Pennington County Sheriff’s Office; Rapid City, SD
18.    Summit School District; Summit, SD
19.    Volunteers of America Dakotas; Sioux Falls, SD
20.    ASI Inc.; Rapid City, SD

SUSTAINING SUCCESS

DOH will continue to identify and promote worksite physical activity for employees in South Dakota. The health department is now working with nine additional worksites to create cultures that support worksite wellness. They plan to add 20 more over the next 2 years. DOH is also collaborating with Health Management Partners, an insurance company based in South Dakota, to reach more South Dakota worksites. The aim is to build a team of trainers to enhance physical activity efforts in worksites across the state.

“Once my employer gave me time during the workday to exercise and a gym I could readily access, it made a huge difference in my total exercise each day.“- Steps to Wellness Worksite Employee

YOUR INVOLVEMENT IS KEY

Click here for more information about the Steps to Wellness Workplace Physical Activity Grant or contact us at sdsu.betterchoicesbetterhealth@sdstate.edu.

Aspire, Inc is a non-profit agency in Aberdeen, SD that assists people with developmental disabilities. Finding ways to provide education on healthy lifestyle choices can present many challenges. An increase in obesity, decline in physical activity and the need for better education on food choices and portions were noted – not only for the people Aspire supports, but also the staff preparing the food and assisting with grocery shopping. In order to work toward promoting a healthier lifestyle, Aspire started to implement many changes, including transitioning to the new school lunch standards, updating menus for supervised locations, providing more opportunities for activity and initiating “Fit Club,” which consists of monthly meetings that provided education from a Registered Dietitian and a healthy snack prepared by the agency nurse.

In September 2014, Aspire was given the opportunity to participate in the SD Healthier Vending and Snack Bar Pilot program with the Department of Health (DOH). For the pilot year, worksites were not give grant funds. In subsequent years, up to $1,000 has been provided to worksites to help implement the project. Because Aspire did not receive funding in the pilot, they have been awarded $1,000 in the 2016-2017 grant year to further their efforts and incentivize staff and clientele. The following information is based on the work completed prior to the 2016-2017 grant year.

Challenges:
Initial barriers consisted of determining how Munch Code guidelines would coexist with the School Lunch Standards and Smart Snack Standards. Some of the foods that were considered yellow for the Munch Code were approved for the Smart Snack Standards, which was surprising as most of their items are more comparable to green. The vending in the cafeteria required the Smart Snack Standards; however; the vending in the staff break room did not. Convincing staff to let go of their comfort foods would be the next challenge. The staff was open to healthier choices, but did not want to replace all of the items. Upon review of the staff vending machine, there was an embarrassing amount of high fat/calorie food choices – the worst being a two-pack of cookies with a total of 700 calories and 900 mg of sodium. That item was immediately removed. Other barriers encountered included difficulty finding foods that met the guidelines that were of interest to people and that were felt to be decent portion sizes. Getting approved vending items from the distributor also proved to be challenging. Aspire received a list of USDA school-approved snacks and healthier options from the distributor but it was limited. For example, the list was three pages long, but it included many multiples of the same items, just different flavors (i.e., chips and Nutrigrain bars). Aspire was also limited on beverage choices due to having an older machine that did not accommodate the size of bottles for some items on the list.

Solution:
Despite the challenges, Aspire kept moving forward and was able to make some healthier changes to the vending machines. The vendor worked with Aspire to get food items they wanted and provided samples to do a group taste test. Some even preferred the taste of the healthier items over the less healthy ones. The staff vending machine went from having only 4 green and yellow items to 18 green and yellow items.

Results & Success:
Overall, the changes Aspire has made toward promoting healthier lifestyles are all beneficial and positive. They have seen a decline in weight for some people, staff members have prioritized being active when assisting people, portions are monitored better and meetings and gatherings at work consist of healthier food choices. According to Aspire’s sales data, the changes have not had any negative effects. September and October 2015 had a larger amount of sales than previous months. Looking ahead, Aspire hopes to better gather and utilize sales data to get a clearer picture of what items are being sold as they cannot fully differentiate between green and red items available in the staff vending machine. Aspire has a Wellness Committee that meets monthly and works toward promoting optimal health for staff, the people they assist and the community. This committee also maintains and promotes the healthy vending policy and procedures. The long-term goal is to continue educating, providing healthier choices and encouraging opportunities for physical activity.

Lessons Learned:
The pilot project was a great learning experience for all entities involved. Aspire recommends getting vending distributors on board right away to allow for smoother transition. Having the calories displayed when trying to make healthy choices is a great idea; however, if vendors replace items, the new item may not have the same amount of calories or color code – so a commitment would be required from the vendor as well. Participating in the pilot program benefited Aspire’s agency by challenging them to look closer at how things could be improved. It prompted them to revisit their Wellness Policy, refocus on Aspire’s goals and collaborate with other community resources to help carry out goals and build lasting working relationships.

Is your worksite interested in offering healthier food and drink options in your vending machine, snack bar, micro market and/or cafeteria? Click HERE for more information about the Healthier Vending & Snack Bar Policy Grant or contact Megan Hlavacek, SD DOH Healthy Foods Coordinator, Megan.Hlavacek@state.sd.us.

Tri-State Flooring, a small company with 25 employees located in Sioux Falls, has owners who care about their employees’ health. They understand the benefit that a wellness program can bring not only for the employees but also for their company as a whole.

In April 2012, Tri-State Flooring, with assistance from WellConneXions, incorporated wellness into their company culture and it has been a huge success. Their goal was met right out of the gate with 85% commitment from employees and full engagement and encouragement from leadership. Their program is comprehensive and includes not only lifestyle wellness but also risk-focused wellness. Each employee is provided a personal Health Enhancement Coach that is available to educate, encourage, and support them along their journey to wellness.

Their calendar of events for the year includes clinical risk evaluations, activity challenges that include off-site employees, community activities for employees and spouses as well as educational sessions and information focused on the outcomes. Their wellness team has been pivotal in the development and success of their program and has voluntarily committed to create a foundation for a successful future. The commitment, participation, excitement and support Tri-State has form the owners have truly positioned their company for a very bright future!