In recognition of the competitive advantages that come with a health workforce, the Business Council of Fairfield County will recognize dozens of companies from throughout the county and state this week for their efforts to support and promote healthier lives for their employees.
The business council”™s Workplace Employer Recognition Program will honor a broad cross section of 49 businesses at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, February 25.
“As I have been involved with this program since its inception, I continue to be impressed with the level of commitment these companies have devoted to wellness within their workplaces,” commented Matthew Fair, First Vice President, First Niagara Risk Management Inc. and co-chair of the 2016 Healthy Workplaces Employer Recognition Program. “Regardless of company size, these honorees have used innovative approaches to not just engage, but to measure the effectiveness of their programs over the long-term.”
Honorees will range from platinum and gold level recognition of companies such as Bigelow Tea of Fairfield and Ridgefield”™s Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals to silver and honorable mention recognitions including Fairfield University and Goodwill of Western and Northern CT, Inc.
Among other initiatives the companies are will be honored for their commitment to health including the use wearable health technologies and online health assessments to help employees track their health, said UnitedHealthcare”™s Anthony Aguanno, co-chair of the recognition Program.
“These same tools can help employers enhance their wellness programs by targeting important health issues and developing reward programs to help improve employees”™ health, impact medical costs and increase productivity,” he said.
According to the business council, research demonstrates that employers realize increased productivity and reduced direct healthcare costs when they offer health and wellness programs to their employees.
“We have learned, not surprisingly, that more than two-thirds of health care spending is linked to behaviors that ultimately make us unhealthy. Yet we have also learned that productivity and health care costs are equally linked to health,” said Tanya Court, vice president of public policy and programs for the business council. “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 to have the many ways our workforces have engaged on wellness.”
To provide more insight into the successes of promoting health in the workplace, attendees will hear case studies first hand from a panel including Chelsea Piers, Yale University, and Cartus Corporation.
Registration will begin at 7:45 a.m. and the breakfast program will be held from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Registration is $40. To register, please contact The Business Council of Fairfield County at 203-359-3220 or visit businessfairfield.com.
