Spotlight on our 2019 LiveLifeBlue award winners

Overall winner: BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC

BMW sends every employee a birthday card — but it’s not just to congratulate them. It’s also to urge them to take advantage of the free on-site Health Check offered every year, including a biometric screening, health risk assessment, flexibility test, and possibly an introduction to one of the company’s health management programs. These include programs focusing on diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, nutrition, weight management and smoking cessation. 

In some cases, employees won’t have to go far to get health services. BMW has its own health center that includes a pharmacy, primary care, physical therapy, dental care, behavioral health counseling and vision care. The health team includes a dietitian to lead a weight management program and offer weight and nutrition counseling. Free medications are available to employees with certain conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and asthma.      

A new walking trail was added to the BMW campus last year. Other fitness initiatives include a running club, walking challenges and community walks that support groups such as the American Heart Association and March of Dimes.     

The company asked its cafeteria vendor to revise recipes so foods are lower in sodium and fat. A red-yellow-green light system provides signals to indicate which foods are more healthful, and which should be eaten less frequently or in moderation. 

These and other efforts are getting results at BMW. The company reports good outcomes from its management programs for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and weight management. This year, new programs are planned to address mindfulness, financial well-being and asthma.    

Congratulations to BMW for its commitment to its employees’ health and for being our overall LiveLifeBlue winner!

Midlands regional winners

M.B. Kahn Construction

After researching well-being programs and getting input from employees, M.B. Kahn rolled out a new program called “Build. Better. Health.” This program includes challenging, fun activities for people of all ability levels, and incentives to keep them engaged.

The program offers a number of ways for employees to stay active. M.B. Kahn sponsors team sports such as bowling, Frisbee golf, basketball and softball. It also includes step challenges, walking events, and discounts at local gyms.

Mental health is a cornerstone of the M.B. Kahn program. The company redesigned its break area to be more relaxing, and updated the campus to include more greenery.

M.B. Kahn has encouraged healthy eating by offering more nutritious snacks on site. Also, its catered menus include more vegetables, and foods that are baked rather than fried.

The Build. Better. Health. program recognizes its top participants with an annual off-site banquet and drawings for cash prizes. Just one year in, the program is seeing high rates of participation and satisfaction.

McLeod Health

McLeod Health makes a special effort to help employees who are dealing with chronic health conditions, through a program called Healthier You. The targeted conditions include obesity, hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.

Employees who want to lose weight get encouragement and support from a 12-week virtual program that focuses on lifestyle changes, not counting calories. The program also aims to improve their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other conditions.

A Diabetic Registry program gives employees free access to certain diabetes medications and supplies. They consult with a health care manager to help them with lifestyle changes. Similarly, McLeod’s smoking cessation program pairs employees with a certified health coach to work with them over a 12-week period.

Other initiatives include health and fitness centers at its three major hospitals, personal fitness training, and financial counseling.

Lowcountry regional winners

Evening Post Industries

Evening Post produces a wellness newsletter that highlights wellness themes and provides information on community wellness events and challenges. It includes a section that focuses on Rally, the company’s digital health platform.

In the past year, the company significantly expanded its wellness education offerings by introducing a financial wellness program. Its features include access to videos, an interactive assessment and budgeting tools, and webinars on various financial topics.

Other wellness education campaigns have included health fairs, brain health awareness efforts, instruction on desk yoga, and a diabetes prevention course. The company introduced a step challenge, dividing employees into teams to promote healthy competition and support. Cash prizes were offered along with a grand prize raffle of an expense-paid trip to the Caribbean, Mexico or Costa Rica. Other fitness activities included community walks and runs and a company kayak trip.

Evening Post companies offered various programs to encourage healthy eating, such as providing free healthy breakfasts or snacks, deliveries of farm-grown produce,and water bottle filling stations. To promote stress management and mental health, several companies have added wellness rooms, on-site yoga classes or “zen rooms” with features such as a noise machine and massage chair.

AstenJohnson

The most popular fitness initiative at AstenJohnsonis its Connect 2B Fit, now in its fourth year. It encourages employees to stay active by setting monthly goals for their steps and “active minutes.” More than half of AstenJohnson’s employees participate in this program each year – and when they meet their monthly goal, they receive a $30 Amazon gift card.

Employees can walk during their break periods as part of the Connect 2B Fit program. The company also supports employees and their families by offering an education reimbursement program and flexible scheduling.

AstenJohnson encourages everyone to order healthy meals for meetings, and offers healthy snacks at its monthly employee recognition meetings. There’s also a health and wellness board where employees can check out recipes for nutritious foods.

This year, the company is adding twice-a-month, on-site visits by Legare Farms,which will offer fresh vegetables, fruits and organic meats.

Upstate regional winners

Self Regional Healthcare

Self Regional Healthcare offers a comprehensive wellness program. An employee-run wellness committee worked across various hospital departments to create a program called Healthy Self. It included education, physical activity, nutritional counseling, stress management and more.

The programs offered include incentives to keep employees engaged. Healthy food options are available in the cafeteria, and these items are less expensive — to encourage people to make the more nutritious choice. A “Cardio Challenge” encouraged employees to be active 150 minutes a week and prizes were awarded. Incentives are also offered through Rally. These include flexible spending account and health savings account deposits when members complete their health survey and biometric screening.

To assist their employees in having a speedy recovery from an illness or injury and to provide preventive services, Self Regional offers an on-site clinic for both employees and their covered family members. The convenience of the clinic ensures employees get timely care and employees aren’t even required to clock out when they visit the clinic.

AFL Telecommunications

AFL Telecommunications offers monthly on-site wellness training, which averages more than 100 participants. Educational online games are another option, and those have engaged 600 participants.

The company’s high engagement is likely tied to its wellness credit program. It offers a $500 wellness credit for the program, which includes basic features such as biometric screenings. The program also requires a follow-up appointment with a nurse practitioner and if needed, additional visits. Employees must choose a few activities to complete, such as participating in a 17-week Weight Watchers class, attending a financial wellness program, meeting with a financial planner, participating in a local 5K or completing online training.

AFL has one of the longest-running Weight Watchers at Work programs. It also offers an on-site clinic and comprehensive financial tools. These are just a few ways AFL helps its employees stay healthy – physically, emotionally and financially.