Sharon Manning and Tammy Cloninger of Great Bend and Larned, have committed to being Champions for WorkWell KS. Manning and Cloninger and Champions from nine other Kansas communities recently completed the first-ever WorkWellKS Statewide Leadership Training Program. Manning and Cloninger will now begin working with and supporting local business leaders to support and promote community health starting with their worksites.
WorkWell KS is a statewide worksite wellness initiative administered by the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care and funded by the Kansas Health Foundation. Through WorkWell KS, local Champions from across the state are challenged to provide leadership in their communities to engage local business and organization leaders to support worksite health and wellness. In December, community Champions from 10 communities across Kansas convened in Wichita for two days of training.
“This leadership training gave our Champions an opportunity to expand and build upon their leadership skills,” said Aubrey Naylor, WorkWell KS coordinator. “Everyone worked to identify their vision and goals for their community and how they can provide leadership to help create a healthier community.”
Research has shown that health and wellness strategies can reduce health care costs, enhance recruitment and retention of healthy employees, decrease rates of illness and injury, and reduce rates of employee absenteeism. WorkWell KS hopes to equip community Champions with the skills and knowledge to raise the bar toward better health in their own communities through local business leadership. Engaging local business leaders in supporting good health is fundamental objective of this effort.
“It is one of our goals to be a resource for healthier communities in The Golden Belt, namely our four Golden Belt counties of Barton, Pawnee, Rush and Stafford.” said WorkWell KS Champion Sharon Manning, Account Manager of the Benefit Management, Inc. “BMI”. “WorkWell KS helped us better define our mission and develop a plan of action. If we can adapt healthy behaviors at the workplace, those habits will be taken throughout our communities and impact our home lives, as well. We want to be a resource for living a better, healthier, happier and more prosperous way.”
Through this initiative, a group of local businesses will have the opportunity to participate in additional worksite wellness training and be connected to resources to support businesses and business leaders and to aid them in their wellness efforts. Organizations interested in becoming leaders for worksite health in their communities should contact Sharon Manning at 620-793-1160 or Tammy Cloninger at 620-791-6829 or e-mail at smanning@bmikansas.com or tcloninger@gbregional.com, respectively.