First Impressions

As the WorkWell KS team pulls into the Ellsworth workshop we are greeted with this awesome sign.

Starting things of great with a very visable environmental prompt!  Looking forward to the next day and a half working with the Ellsworth County Health Department, Mosaic, USD 112 Central Plains, Ellsworth County Medical Center and Cashco.

It's Good and It's Good for You!

One of the wonderful Champions in Kinsley actually prepared the food for the entire workshop.  Everyone was beyond happy that she did.  Linette Miller prepared amazing snacks, a breakfast and a lunch.  The food was fresh and extremely healthy. Guess what...everyone loved it!  She really showed the group that it can be easy and tasty to make healthy options. People tried foods they had never had before and the feedback was all postitive.  Take a look for yourself! We will definitely be sharing some of her recipes!

Lots of Greats in Oakley!

It feels great to be back on the road and out working with Kansans.  Oakley was the perfect place to begin our third year. Great views, great group, great (healthy) grub!

Thank you to all of the participants which include; Peoples State Bank, USD 274, Logan County Hospital, City of Oakley, The Bank, Frontier Ag, Inc., and the Northwest Kansas Education Service Center.

Keep up the hard work! With such great leaders good things are sure to happen in Oakley!

What is Better than Two Wheels? THREE OF COURSE!

We walk outside of the Pine Village Wellness Center in Moundridge during a WorkWell KS worksite wellness workshop  and find these grown up tricycles.  How incredible?  We were told that about twenty residents ride these around the facility, one of which is ninety seven years old!  Wow!  Physical activity helps us all live longer, healthier lives.  What an incredible story and where can we get some of these?

Wellness at my worksite is like a...

Asking workshop participants to describe worksite wellness at their worksite using a metaphor makes for some interesting conversation.  It can seem silly... and produces some silly responses, but it's important to think honestly about where your worksite really is in terms of supporting health and wellness.  In the workshops we discuss the Kansas Leadership competency, diagnosing the situation.  A piece of this is knowing your story. What is actually going on at your worksite? What is the story others are telling about your worksite and it's wellness efforts? Metaphors give us an opportunity to explore these stories openly.  It is also a chance to relate to one and other. This work is challenging and many other worksites in your community and across the state experience similar struggles and face the same barriers.  We decided to some really stories from real businesses facing real challenges across the state.

 

            

Again, these may seem silly, but how many of you relate to the issues they address.  Do you present employees with opportunities but struggle with engagement?  Do you have a number of programs and activities taking place, but no real goals or sense of direction? Do you offer some things that may be considered somewhat healthier or are dipping your toes into wellness like activities, but really lack commitment and dedication to the work?  Do you have employees or executives that have their heels completely dug in and find any change is difficult?  These are realities across the state and the challenges we discuss in all of our workshops.  If you would like to discuss these or other issues and/or need help brainstorming ways to address such barriers get in touch with your local Champions and/orWorkWell KS.

Life is Like Riding a Bike...to Keep Your Balance You Must Keep Moving!

We were excited  to have two bicycle commuters at the WorkWell KS workshop in Wichita! The group as a whole was fantastic.  They challenged not only each other, but the facilitators as well.  These difficult conversations are an integral part in bringing about change in the health and wellness of our worksites and our community.  Thank you Exacta Aerospace, Delta Dental,
Martin Pringle, Kansas Spine Hospital
Medical Society of Sedgwick County;
KU and Inter Faith Ministries for participating in this day and a half workshop.  Keep up the great work! Don't forget, wellness is a journey not a destination!

Practice May Make Perfect... but it Does Not Make Policies!

The WWKS Crew Walked 3 Miles on the Public Walking Trail!

Hello Beloit! The WorkWell KS crew is excited to be back in town.  Thanks to some additional funding from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment(KDHE), WorkWell KS is able to return to some of our Year 1 communities.  Our first return trip was to Beloit, KS.  The community's WorkWell KS Champions, Lori May and Janae Peters, both with the NCK Wellness Center, did a wonderful job of bringing both veteran and new worksites to the table to talk about creating strategic business plans that support healthy worksites.  The group was dynamic, engaged and full of energy.  They brought fantastic ideas to group conversations and it appears many businesses in the community have adopted some amazing practices that support the development of a healthy culture at their worksites.  Some businesses currently do not hire tobacco users, others are sure to provide healthy foods at work functions.  Many however had not yet developed policies to support and sustain these practices.  The work they are doing is WONDERFUL, but potentially in vain if a policy is not developed to sustain it. Policies address the "stickiness" factor we discuss in the WorkWell KS Workshop.  Policies secure a permanent place in the worksite for current and/or future practices.  Beloit is full of leaders and businesses committed to the health of  their employees and the community as a whole. We look forward to seeing the work you continue to do. The opportunities are endless!