Health and Wellness in April

With April showers in mind, The Center held a Parking Spot Raffle the last week in March.  The winner of the raffle received the right to park in the reserved (and very close) spots for the rainy month of April. And those lucky winners were….Brenda Spencer and Tim Wyman!  Proceeds from the raffle went to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan.

Tuesday Tennies continue to roll as we lace up our tennis in our quest for a healthier lifestyle.  It’s a fantastic way to smell the flowers and enjoy our beautiful surroundings.   You’ll find our business neighbors circling the grounds as well! 

Strawberry Shortcake for everyone!  For the price of a small donation we gobbled up this delicious goodie for our Thursday Treat this past week.   In our effort to strive for a healthier version we used angel food cake, fresh cut strawberries and fat-free whip cream…Yum!   Donations went to the Cystinosis Research Network.  

Our Center initiatives and efforts have been noticed recently.  Look hard and you'll find a few Center team members pictured throughout Blue Cross Blue Shield's Annual Report.

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Center Wellness Goes Viral

From stretch breaks in the middle of business meetings to fresh fruit deliveries to the office, from walking meetings on the nature trail to healthy options in the break room, we take wellness pretty seriously. In fact, we’re even taking it to YouTube.   Workplace wellness programs provide the access, opportunity, support and encouragement for all employees to actively participate in improving their health.  What exactly is workplace wellness at The Center?  It starts with a core value that supports work/life balance. This important firm value is our springboard.   Our program is built on the following foundation:  

• Create an employee driven Wellness Committee
• Identify Center team members who are either mentors or champions for healthy activities
• Conduct a needs and interest survey
• Post healthy tips on a bulletin board
• Promote messages from national health organizations
• Provide workshops on relaxation, stress management, exercise, nutrition, and work/life balance topics

Our first priority is to create a healthy environment for Center team members.  But in pursuit of our goal with innovative programs and employee engagement, we attracted the attention of the Blue Care Network Healthy Blue Living marketing group.  They liked what we were doing so much that the interviewed several team members including Gerri Harmer, Jennie Bauder, Tim Wyman, Troy Wyman and Laurie Renchik.  The YouTube videos they created will help spread the word about some of the successful programs we support.   Promoting work/life balance for all Center team members is a goal we take seriously!

Healthcare Forecast Breakfast

The Center’s health and wellness initiatives were recently recognized at a Healthcare Forecast Breakfast sponsored by the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce.

Center Operations Manager Gregg Bloomfield was one of three panelists leading the healthcare and wellness discussion.  Panel members provided insights on how health care reform and wellness and employee benefit programs are shaping business today. 

After the event, Gregg commented, “Small businesses have particular challenges and opportunities in the area of employee healthcare.   I was pleased to share with this audience the inspiring results of our in-house health and wellness program. 

The Center team leadership has worked very effectively with our community partners -- American Heart Association and Blue Care Network – to improve overall wellness at our workplace.”

Center team members and friends in attendance included:  Sandy Adams, Gerri Harmer, Marilynn Levin, Laurie Renchik, Kimberly Wyman and Troy Wyman.

A Busy February for Our Health & Wellness Team

Our crew kicked the month off with a Go Red for Women week by recognizing a GO RED activity each day.  The week’s festivities included:

Monday:           Pin Day – We handed out pins to wear all week in support.

Tuesday:          Smoothie Day – A donation was given for each smoothie.

Wednesday:    Red Snack Day – Enjoyed strawberries and chocolate dip.

Thursday:         Appreciation Day – Gave a heart to someone you appreciate at work & told them why.

Friday:              Wear Red Day – Wore red and a smile. 

Center staff continues to log their health and wellness activities on the American Heart Association ® Start! website.   Julie Hall won a gift card to Starbucks for logging the most activities this month with Sandy Adams right behind winning a gift card for Subway.

Guest speaker, Venette Hysmith from Affordable Wellness Massage spoke to The Center about the importance of deep breathing, proper stretching, and ergonomics for the workplace.  We all came away with some new and simple to use health nuggets to put into practice.

Souper Thursdays continues to produce delicious feast and donations to the Cystinosis Research Network.   Here’s a look at one of our favorites!

Our Health & Wellness Crew Are at It Again!

Last week The Center got a reality check by inviting our insurance provider Blue Care Network to come in and to do individual Body Mass Index (BMI) assessments on most of staff.  Armed with some added motivation, that same week we listened to personal trainer Mark Floria from Franklin Athletic Club give advice, answer questions & demonstrate simple exercise techniques adding to our fitness toolbox.

We are back to our Souper Thursdays now that the holidays are over.  Planners, Tim Wyman and Laurie Renchik, cooked up some delicious soup for staff with donations going to the Cystinosis Research Network.  We would like to share a couple of our more popular recipes.

Laurie Renchik Honored to Share The Center's Wellness Efforts

The Center’s health and wellness initiatives were recently recognized by both the American Heart Association and Blue Care Network for building a culture of health and wellness in the workplace. 

A key factor in the program’s continued success since 2008 has been the positive power of wellness champions within the firm creating grassroots commitment within the firm.  

Accolades from Blue Care Network’s Healthy Blue Living program resulted in an invitation to sit on a wellness panel at a BCN’s recent five year anniversary event in Southfield.  

Planner Laurie Renchik represented the Center wellness initiative on the panel, sharing stories about activities and healthy practices adopted at the Center.

The Center's Health and Wellness Committee Receives Community Innovation Award!

The Center is proud to announce that we reached our Health and Wellness group goal of achieving the Platinum Level Award with the American Heart Association.  We also received the Community Innovation Award for our “Souper Thursdays” program from over 70 companies that applied for this round.

The Community Innovation award is only given to one company each round. This award was achieved through healthy eating at lunchtime, team building through group participation, and charitable orientation by collecting a donation for “soup” which was disbursed to selected charities.

Special thanks to Gerri Harmer! We could not have achieved such heights without her leadership and motivation!