SURPRISE, ARIZ., May 28, 2015 — Whether it’s promoting lunch-time or after-work exercise, encouraging good nutrition or providing incentives to get and stay in shape, Sun Health has embraced the growing employee health movement.
The nonprofit community-based health organization was among 65 Valley companies honored May 28 by the Phoenix Business Journal as part of the publication’s annual Healthiest Employers program celebrating businesses for their efforts to keep their workers in good health.
Sun Health ranked in the top 20 of mid-sized employers — those with 251 to 999 employees.
For nearly 50 years, Sun Health has been a champion of healthy living for patients and community members in the West Valley. That mission extends to Sun Health’s more than 580 employees who are encouraged to participate in Sun Health’s Employee Wellness program to help them improve their health and wellness in big and small ways.
Employees are provided with baseline biometric screenings annually, which include checks of blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, body mass index and body fat percentage. This information helps staff members assess their health and learn where they could improve.
Each month, employees are challenged to meet a health goal, ranging from walking a certain number of steps, to increasing fiber intake, to staying hydrated to strength-training exercises. Each challenge comes with an incentive to encourage participation. Earning challenge points can lead to gifts such as activity trackers, athletic shoe vouchers or even a check for $150.
In 2015, Sun Health began offering its employees an online wellness platform, Wellsource,® which includes a comprehensive health assessment – the Personal Wellness Profile™ (PWP) – based on self reporting. Responses are tabulated, resulting in an individual risk assessment report.
To encourage health-related goal setting, employees can complete their PWP and schedule an appointment with a health coach to review results and develop an action plan. Sun Health also offers massage therapy and acupuncture at a discounted rate to employees as a way to reduce stress.
Staff from Sun Health’s Center for Health & Wellbeing collaborate with wellness teams from Sun Health’s three senior living communities to educate and motivate employees to adopt healthier lifestyles.
These wellness efforts have helped Sun Health win recognition. The organization has been designated as an American Heart Association Fit-Friendly Worksite for three consecutive years, 2013-2015. And, the Phoenix Business Journal named Sun Health one of the Valley’s Healthiest Employers last year.
“We are honored to have made the Healthiest Employer list for the second year in a row,” said Rhonda Zonoozi, an exercise physiologist, certified health coach and coordinator of Sun Health’s employee wellness program. “We are continuing to look for more ways to engage our employees in their health and wellness.”
About Sun Health
A long-standing community partner championing healthy living, nonprofit Sun Health is a community-based health care organization providing pathways to population health through philanthropy, senior living, community programs and superior health care. Learn more at www.SunHealth.org and www.SunHealthWellbeing.org.
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