The Business Council of Fairfield County hosted its 2015 Healthy Workplace employer recognition event recently at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel, honoring 44 businesses that make wellness a priority and attracting more than 160 attendees.
The Healthy Workplace program is an initiative of the Business Council”™s Wellness Roundtable. This was the seventh annual awards event.
- From left, moderator Christopher Bruhl, president and CEO, The Business Council of Fairfield County; Josephia Chan, associate director for occupational health and wellness, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Platinum Award honoree; Paul Gallo, director of exercise science and wellness, Norwalk Community College, Platinum Award honoree; and Andrea Gale, senior benefits consultant, Harman International Industries Inc., Platinum Award honoree. Photo by The Business Council of Fairfield County
The Wellness Roundtable is designed as “a vehicle for best-practice exchange,” according to the Business Council. Its communications and events program raise awareness of wellness and serve as catalysts for employers to take cooperative action in meeting the health-related needs of their employees through the likes of walking clubs and preventive medical screenings.
The Business Council, which dates in its current form to 1970, but with roots back to 1890, has more than 200 corporate and nonprofit members.
The event honored the efforts of employers, according to the Business Council, “who understand the competitive advantage of a healthy workforce and who have implemented a diverse range of programs to promote a healthy workplace and assist their employees to live healthier lives.”
“We have learned, not surprisingly, that more than two-thirds of health care spending is linked to behaviors that ultimately make us unhealthy,” said Tanya Court, vice president for public policy and programs for the Business Council, in a statement. “Yet we have also learned that productivity and health care costs are equally linked to health. As costs related to health and health care escalate, business has responded in a variety of ways. Just as our recognition program has evolved, so too have the many ways our workforces have engaged on wellness.”
Honorees included those recognized in the Platinum category, including Aquarion Water Co., Bridgeport; Bigelow Tea, Fairfield; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Ridgefield; Contractors Register Inc., Jefferson Valley, N.Y.; Daymon Worldwide Inc., Stamford; Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Manchester; Harman International Industries Inc., Stamford; Neopost USA, Milford; Norwalk Community College, Norwalk; People”™s United Bank, Bridgeport; Pitney Bowes Inc., Stamford; Sikorsky ”“ a United Technologies Co., Stratford; Stew Leonard”™s, Norwalk; Tauck Inc., Norwalk; and University of Hartford, West Hartford.
- From left, Matthew Fair, regional sales director, First Niagara Risk Management Inc. and event co-chairman; Lea Sampiere, medical analyst, Sikorsky, a United Technologies company; Tanya Court, director for public policy and programs, The Business Council of Fairfield County; Anthony Aguanno, event co-chairman and senior account executive, UnitedHealthcare of CT Inc.; and Heather Barnes, managing director, Aon Hewitt. Committee members absent included Donna Gaudioso-Zeale, corporate relations associate, Stamford Hospital; and Robert Janes Jr., director for new sales, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Photo by The Business Council of Fairfield County
Those recognized in the Gold category included Ability Beyond, Bethel; American Heart Association, Purchase, N.Y.; CBP, Stamford; CBRE Inc., Stamford; EBP Supply Solutions Milford; Gartner, Stamford; Gault Energy and Stone, Westport; Hospital for Special Care, New Britain; Hubbell Inc., Shelton; Masonicare, Wallingford; The Priceline Group, Norwalk; PwC LLP, Stamford; Quinnipiac University, Hamden; Really Good Stuff, Monroe; Sacred Heart University, Fairfield; Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk; Terex, Westport; Ultra Electronics, Sandy Hook; and Waterbury-based Webster Bank.
Silver category winners included American Institute for Foreign Study, Stamford; The Ashforth Co., Stamford; Chelsea Piers Connecticut, Stamford; Citrin Cooperman, Norwalk; Compass Furnished Apartments, Stamford; CT Challenge, Southport; Fairfield University, Fairfield; Stamford-based First County Bank; Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville; and Weeden & Co., Greenwich.
Along with The Business Council”™s Wellness Roundtable, sponsors included First Niagara Risk Management Inc. and UnitedHealthcare of CT Inc. Representatives of Boehringer Ingelheim, Norwalk Community College and Harman International spoke to their companies”™ experiences with the program.
“This year”™s honorees have been able to implement their own bottom-line focused wellness programs in order to provide maximum benefit for their employees,” said Matthew Fair, regional sales director, First Niagara Risk Management and co-chairman of the 2015 Healthy Workplaces employer recognition program.
“From offering walking clubs and on-site fitness classes to nutritionists, farmers markets and preventive screening, they have shown that wellness doesn”™t have to be complicated or expensive,” he said. “By recognizing their efforts to promote healthy lifestyles, we hope this serves as a catalyst for other employers in both the private and public sector to take action.”
“Having this multiyear perspective is extremely valuable,” said Anthony Aguanno, senior account executive, UnitedHealthcare of CT and co-chairman of the 2015 program with Fair. “Since we started this program seven years ago, it is amazing to see how wellness programs have developed and particularly remarkable is the shift from offering activity-based incentives to now offering outcomes-based rewards.
“The sheer number of participants this year really highlights that employers of choice are implementing comprehensive wellness programs for not only employee retention but engagement,” he said.
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